Shadows Of The Heart
by Karliah357
Summary: Lex is a shadow mage who joins Fairy Tail in an unconventional way. How will she handle her blossoming relationship with Gray through the highs and lows of guild life, and how will her unknown past create problems with its untold secrets even Lex is unaware of? How can two people share a happy life when they are constantly fighting to protect everything they know? GrayxOC & others.
1. The Mysterious Woman

Fairy Tail is having another normal day. Normal meaning everyone present has erupted into a massive bar fight, filling the guild hall with the sounds of angry yelling and wood snapping.

The doors fly open, hushing everyone as they all stop mid-swing. Standing in the doorway is a short, busty strawberry-blonde wearing a pink blouse and short denim shorts. Her gray eyes narrow at the mages in the guild hall as she points towards the guild members as they stare at her in confusion.

"Meet me at the hillside in the north countryside, unless you're all as cowardly as everyone says! I'll defeat every single person in this room and then join this guild so I can be well on my way to the top! I can take all of you on by myself; you guys don't look so tough. Just a band of ruffians! I'll take every single one of you on tournament style. You've got three hours; meet me there if you have the guts!"

The doors slam shut behind her as she leaves. The guild members all look at each other in shock before straightening themselves up angrily.

"What did she call us?!"

"How dare she insult Fairy Tail!"

"Let's go take her down a few pegs!"

Natsu jumps from his seat, his head practically on fire as he rages. Lucy attempts to calm him down.

"What the heck?! Who was she?!"

"I don't know, but she certainly had plenty of confidence…"

"I'M GOING TO THAT HILL!"

"Calm down! Everyone here is offended, not just you!"

Guild Master Makarov, who had up until that point been drinking merrily, slams his mug onto the table. His eyebrow twitches in irritation.

"I'm glad she picked a desolate spot, because I won't let her get away with that! Everyone ready for a fight, head out. You can't make a taunt like that and not expect people to act on it!"

The members cheer, heading out of Magnolia in a mob. Most of the guild shows up. No S-Class mages are present and a few people are out, but it's still a sizable crowd of angry people. The woman steps forward and flips her hair back over her shoulder haughtily.

"Glad you could join me! If no one objects, this will be a one on one for each guild member."

A few protest, but eventually they all agree to fight her one at a time. The first person steps up as the woman pulls something from her bag. She holds it above her head and then swishes it downwards.

Lucy focuses in on the item and gasps.

"I-It's a black key!"

Clutched in the woman's fingers is a black key, the head of which is shaped into a pair of horns and the rest curling into a devils tail. She brings it down all the way and stabs it into the ground in front of her.

"I summon thee, creature of darkness! Lend me your power and vanquish mine enemies! Open, gate of the beast!

A black magic circle springs up across the ground and a huge shadow pools before her, moving upwards and forming a mostly human form as it solidifies. The black mist forms horns and beastly legs with tendrils of it clinging to its body.

Natsu nudges Lucy.

"Hey, what kind if key is that?"

"I don't know, I've never heard of a key like that before..."

"Maybe it's really rare! You should fight her and see if you can win it or something."

She slaps his arm.

"You can't just take spirits from their owners whenever you want!"

"But it's so cool!"

"I don't understand…I know silver and gold keys exist, but I've never heard of a black key."

Happy tugs on her skirt.

"Maybe it's a demon not a spirit."

"D-DON'T SAY WORRYING THINGS LIKE THAT!"

The two are interrupted by a collective gasp. The first guild member is down in record time, and the spirit hasn't even moved yet. Now that they are watching they see the next couple fall to the same magic as the spirit summons up their shadows to attack them in its place. By the fourth person they've all wised up and tried new tactics, forcing it to really fight. It's good, but still takes some damage and is breathing hard after the ninth person is defeated.

Natsu jumps out next. He grins and cracks his knuckles, flashing the spirit a pointy smile.

"I'm not going easy on you! Nobody insults Fairy Tail and gets away with it!"

He rushes forward, hands ablaze.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

The spirit ducks around him and punches him in the gut. It manages to land an elbow between his shoulder blades before Natsu flings around and punches it with impressive force in the shoulder. It topples backwards, sliding across the ground and he rushes it again. It kicks him hard enough to stagger him and gets another flurry of punches in before Natsu overtakes it and sends it to the ground with an elbow to the head.

The woman charges over, hands balled into fists.

"Get up! GET UP you worthless creature! You aren't done yet, finish him off already!"

"Missy-"

"DID I SAY YOU COULD TALK?! GET UP!"

With a heavy sigh it drags itself to its feet and lunges at him. Fire and dark mist swirl together as the two continue to exchange blows over and over again. Natsu finally throws it back enough to end it.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!"

He wraps his hands around his mouth and sends forward a jet of flame that engulfs the spirit. It lets out an unmistakably female scream and dives from the flame. It looks like the mist is significantly thinner, almost enough to see through. Missy, what it called its owner, continues screaming.

"Knock it off and get serious! FINISH THE FIGHT! HURRY UP!

It rises unsteadily and Natsu sets his hand aflame.

Before he can strike Lucy lunges into the circle, grabbing his arm and clutching it firmly.

"STOP!"

Missy snarls at her.

"I said one on one, tart. Get lost!"

"You can't do this!"

"What the hell are you screeching about?"

Tears roll down Lucy's face.

"You can't treat them that way! Celestial spirits, they feel pain and emotion just like we do! You can't mistreat them like this!"

"What do you care? She isn't yours, she's mine! I'll do whatever I want with her!"

"You're wrong! I won't let you abuse her this way!"

All this time the spirit looks on, wobbling where she stands. Nobody can see her eyes through the mist, but she makes no move to assist or stop her owner. Missy's hands are balled into fists as she rushes toward Lucy and tries to punch her. Natsu easily throws her back, of course.

Missy screams at her spirit.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE! MAKE THEM PAY!"

It doesn't move at first, but eventually limps toward Natsu and Lucy. She gets about halfway there before collapsing to the ground in a heap. The black mist vanishes, leaving behind a very human looking woman lying face down on the ground. Missy rushes to her side.

"GET UP! GET UP! DON'T YOU DARE RUIN THIS FOR ME!"

She kicks her a few times before Natsu approaches her menacingly. Missy backs away slowly before yelling to him.

"Fine, keep her! I don't care what happens to that trash!"

With that, she runs away. Some people consider pursuing her but most don't see the point. Lucy rushes to the aid of the fallen woman as Happy holds back an enraged Natsu.

"Let me go! I'll chase her down!"

"You can't fight her, you'd kill her!"

"I'll just punch her a little!"

Lucy flips her over onto her back, revealing a surprisingly beautiful raven haired woman. Her face looks a little like Missy's, and once her eyes open a bit she notices they have the same grey eyes as well.

She coughs, blood spilling from a lip wound in a rivulet down her cheek. She's covered in burns and bruises that are visible now that the mist is gone. Levi yells out to Jet to get a stretcher, and he's back in record time.

With that, they head back to town with the wounded woman in tow. Before they leave Lucy plucks the key from the ground and easily snaps it in half.

"Just as I thought...fake..."

She drops the pieces to the ground and hurries after the others. The broken key slowly turns to black mist and disappears alone on the hillside.


	2. A New Start

Lucy is sitting in the hospital room waiting for the woman to wake up. Everyone in Fairy Tail, Makarov especially, has taken an interest in her. The hospital already had to kick people out for being rowdy, so Lucy was the only one allowed inside at the moment. She had been staying with her since they brought her here.

Lucy is startled from her book as the woman coughs and places a hand over her eyes. She rubs her temples with a groan.

"What a headache..."

"Um...I'm Lucy..."

She glances over at her and a look of realization crosses her features.

"You're a good person. I haven't seen someone stick up for someone they didn't even know like that in a long time."

"O-Oh it was nothing...I'm a Celestial Spirit owner so I get sensitive about that..."

She laughs awkwardly as she tries to explain herself. The woman just shakes her head and chuckles.

"Nah, I think you're just a good person. I get that feeling from you. My name is Lex. Well, it's really Alexis but everyone calls me Lex."

At that point a nurse enters the room and tells Lex she can leave when she signs out. She gets dressed in her black cargo pants and white midriff top with flowing, gauzy sleeves. A half hour later she is standing at the doors of Fairy Tail. It looks a lot bigger than it did when she was in Missy's shadow. Lucy lets her in and the guild goes quiet as she enters.

Makarov and most of the fighters from before are gathering around the bar as Lex approaches. She looks nervous. It's reasonable, considering what happened and the fact she's now in the limelight.

"I'm Makarov Dreyar, the Guild Master of Fairy Tail."

"I-I'm Alexis Grimsever. Call me Lex."

"I think you owe everyone here an explanation, if you are willing to give it."

"Yes I agree..."

Lex sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose.

"Missy is my older sister. She doesn't have any magic capabilities so she tried using me to fulfill her dream of becoming a mage."

Everyone seems a bit less irritated with her after that.

"I'm really sorry about my sister...I felt obligated to help her, but I didn't know she'd do THAT..."

Makarov, his face stoic, regards her from his seat.

"So what are you going to do now?"

"Oh...um...I guess I could go back to Lamia Scale and see if they'll take me back. I was in the guild a few years ago..."

She's startled by laughing. Makarov is laughing with a huge grin on his face. Confused, she slowly looks out over the crowd and meets the eyes she had been avoiding. They are all smiling for some reason…

"Join Fairy Tail!"

"W-What?"

"Well, you're already here and we know you're a competent fighter. Why travel halfway across Fiore when you can stay right here? You've already made a friend."

Her eyes pick Lucy out of the crowd, who is smiling at her. She nods vigorously at Lex in response to her nonverbal question.

"I...I'd like that. Thank you, sir."

Within minutes she's sworn in with a choir of cheers all around. Mirajane stamps a Fairy Tail symbol just above her waistband on her right hip, not far from her bellybutton. The stamp is a deep purple color and she smiles at it as everyone begins celebrating. She has a good feeling about this place, but can't help but worry. A round is passed out on the house and Lex drinks her beer slowly as Natsu continues his barrage of questions.

"What's it feel like when you go into a shadow?"

"What does it feel like when you set a body part on fire?"

"How'd you make the horns and stuff?"

"Shadow Craft."

"Can you make other things?"

Lex sets her mug down and pinches the shadow it makes on the bar. Lucy, Natsu, and Happy (she still can't get over the weird flying cat) watch closely as she pulls some blackness into her hands and squeezes it in her palm. When she opens her hand again she's holding a black, misty rose between her fingers that quickly solidifies. Natsu reaches for it, plucking it from her fingertips. It stays solid for only a moment before melting into black mist and vanishing as the light from the room overtakes it.

"Hey, you're better at that than Gray!"

"What did you say?"

Lex feels someone stand beside her and looks up, her eyes locking on to a set of naked pectoral muscles. The right side of his chest has the guild marking in dark blue and a silver pendant dangles from his neck. Looking up her eyes meet his blue ones set under a fringe of very dark blue, almost black hair. Lex blushes furiously up at him.

"W-Why are you in your underwear?!"

"OH CRAP!"

"WHY DO YOU LOOK SO SURPRISED YOU'RE NAKED?!"

The man rushes off and Lex looks back at Lucy in uncomfortable confusion. She laughs awkwardly.

"Sorry that was Gray, he has a bad habit of stripping without knowing it."

"How can...Never mind this place is already weird."

Lucy nods lightly in confirmation. Lex drinks a little more and watches Natsu and Gray get into a heated argument until her friend speaks again.

"I don't mean to sound nosey but...why were you helping Missy? She treated you horribly during the fight..."

Lex sets her mug down again with a sigh.

"Missy has taken care of me since I was four. She kept me clothed, fed, and kept a roof over our heads. Heck, she even taught me magic."

"But I thought you said she can't use magic?"

"She can't, but she's an extremely good teacher. She spent months looking for a magic to teach me. She was convinced that she had to find a magic so unique I would never be turned down by any guild. One day she came home with a bunch of books on shadow magic and started teaching it to me. Shadow Craft, Shadow Walking, Transformation in Dark Form, anything she could find that would apply. My fondest memories of her are of my lessons. As unlikely as it seemed from the way she acted, she isn't a bad person. She's just...eccentric. She drives herself crazy."

"Wow...such an intense person..."

"She wasn't that bad until after she helped me get into Lamia Scale. I was only seven at the time so it took a ton of convincing to get them to let me in. I brought money home from jobs but it was never enough, so in the end Missy was always the breadwinner. I think knowing I was going on missions instead of her started messing with her head. I stayed with the guild until I was seventeen, three years ago. Missy wanted me to leave it so we could 'work on our routine' so she could join a guild. Then she picked one she thought was filled with idiots and you know the rest."

"Why didn't you go back to Lamia Scale? I know everyone here wanted you to join us but you could have said no if you wanted to."

"You've seen them in the magazines. They're just...too focused on celebrity status. Every member is extremely classy and everyone dresses in expensive clothes. I spent most of the money I made on cute little outfits to appease my guild mates. I hated those clothes...they always got ruined and I always had to buy more."

"Won't you miss your old friends?"

"I didn't have many...just a handful. I'm going to write and tell them where I ended up after I get settled in here in Magnolia. I kept in touch with a few of them over the years, but it was hard with Missy being so overbearing. Truthfully...I'm kind of worried about her. I've never seen her freak out like that before and then she just ran off..."

"Well for her sake I hope she doesn't turn up again…You're our friend now, our comrade. We protect each other no matter what, even from mean sisters."

Lex chuckles softly and finishes off her beer.

"Do you have anywhere to stay?"

"No I haven't thought that far ahead. Missy went straight from the train to the guild."

"You can move in with me! If you want to, that is..."

"Really? You'd be okay with that?"

"Truthfully, I'm having trouble paying my rent on time. Having a roommate would really help and since you need a place I think we can help each other out."

"Thanks, that works out great actually! I can start working sooner since I don't have to look for a place."

They shake on it with happy smiles. Lex thanks Mirajane for the beer before the two women head out. She wonders why Missy ran off like she did, and where exactly her elder sister has gone.

*This series will follow the Fairy Tail storyline and contain spoilers. Some chapters will be more story heavy than others, but there is a ton of original content thrown in so don't worry. I try to condense cannon dialogue down as much as a can while giving just enough for everyone to remember the details, especially for the older story arcs.*


	3. Slow Beginnings

Lex is shocked to find Lucy owns a nice little rental house off the canal. It's full of cheery bright colors and looks like a great place for a young woman. It is a little too girly for Lex's taste but she still thinks it's charming. It has a nicely sized living room and open concept kitchen/dining area. The bedroom is big enough for two of everything but it seems Lucy owns a lot of clothes so reorganizing the furniture may be in order.

"There's only one bed, so I'll have to order you one. And a dresser too when we have the cash...do you need a desk as well?"

"I'll pay for that stuff in due time. When is this month's rent due?"

"In two weeks, the last Friday of the month."

They talk figures until Lex gets an idea of how much cash she'll have to chip in. After that she accepts a blanket and pillow from Lucy that she places on the couch.

"I'll just sleep here for now."

"I just realized this, but you don't have any luggage…"

Lex grins and drops to one knee, sticking her arm shoulder deep into her own shadow. She feels around a bit before pulling a dark green trunk from the confines of her shadow and placing it on the ground. Lucy looks on in amazement as she opens it and begins digging around, pulling out a couple piles of colorful clothing.

"These belonged to Missy. I doubt she'd come back for them since she has so much back home, so you can have them all."

"Oh I couldn't!"

"I won't wear them. They're way too colorful and designer for my taste, so you can have them. I was just going to leave them in the trunk, but this way they don't go to waste."

Lucy hesitantly agrees, but she still spends the next few minutes picking through the items and talking about how cute they are. She really likes them, so now Lex doesn't have to bother with them. The trunk is a little under half full of her own things. She didn't own much to begin with so all the important things fit easily inside. It's a relief she won't have to try to get any items from her sister.

The girls settle in with tea and chat until it gets late. Lex hates to admit it, but being rid of her sister is actually pretty great. She still loves her as a caretaker, but maybe separation will help her sort out her problems and Lex will see her again someday.

She goes to bed and sleeps better than she has in months.

The next week is full of odd jobs. She starts off small, mostly in-town jobs, and managed to cover her half of the rent on time. She ends up paying it alone along with the money Lucy left on her desk since Natsu dragged her off on some job and hasn't returned yet.

Lex loves this guild. It's outrageous and free, something refreshing she had yet to experience. Maybe one day she'll be as powerful as some of the better known mages, but until then she just has one major concern. Only one, the least amount she's had in her life.

Rent.


	4. Meddling Mirajane

Gray is looking at the billboard when Mirajane saddles up next to him.

"Going on the cave-in mission?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Take Lex with you!"

He gives her an irritated look.

"Why would I take some submissive rookie with me?"

"Because she's only been taking small jobs so far. I think she's afraid of taking bigger ones because she thinks the members who have been here longer want them."

"That's not my problem."

Mirajane flashes a sweet, adorable smile at him.

"If you don't take her I'll tell Erza you refused to welcome a newcomer to the guild."

"Y-You wouldn't!"

Her smile turns a bit dark and Gray realizes she's serious.

"I'll put down Gray Fullbuster and Alexis Grimsever for the cave mission."

He rubs his hand over his face and begrudgingly agrees before heading off to find the rookie.

…'…'…

Lex is eating lunch alone at home when she hears a voice behind her.

"Grab your stuff, you're coming with me."

She jumps, the unfinished half of her sandwich falling into her lap as she swallows hard to avoid choking. Turning around she finds a shirtless Gray standing nonchalantly in her shared house.

"How did you even get in here?! You scared the hell out of me!"

"Not important, hurry up before we miss the train."

Lex grabs a maroon backpack from beside the couch and pulls it on before following Gray to the door.

"You should put your shirt back on."

"CRAP."

With that they head to the station in silence. Gray doesn't say anything more to her and she's too nervous to say anything to him. In the end they're already halfway to their destination before Gray speaks.

"Don't you want to know what we're doing?"

"Yes, but I figured you'd tell me yourself since you asked me to come."

"There's a mining town called Nadia at the base of that mountain over there. Apparently there was a cave-in earlier that trapped some miners inside and they decided to send out a request since they couldn't get them out themselves. The request was marked high priority."

"I hope the cave isn't too big or we may not find everyone in time…"

"Seventy-thirty."

"What?"

"The cut. You get thirty percent."

Lex shrugs. She already made rent so she doesn't really care, just hopes it'll be enough to buy a bed. That couch is killing her poor back.

They pull into the town and are met by a crowd of people. They spot the Fairy Tail symbol on Lex's stomach and begin to talk amongst themselves anxiously. They have good reason to be nervous, the guild is known for destroying things. She just hopes Gray doesn't have as bad a reputation as Natsu.

"Please, come this way! Hurry, there are still eight men unaccounted for!"

The old, white haired man that flagged them down leads them towards the mine. The rest of the crowd follows closely behind carrying medical supplies and stretchers. The entrance isn't blocked so the rubble must be farther in. The old man hands them a couple lanterns (magical ones that glow without flame) and shifts his weight impatiently as the two start inside.

They walk a ways in until they find the pile of debris blocking the tunnel.

"Now what?"

Gray plants one fist on his upright palm, fingers splayed. A light blue magic circle appears but Lex stops him.

"Why did you stop me?"

"Let me check and see if anyone is buried under there before you start freezing anything."

"You've never seen me use my power."

"No, but I've read about you in The Daily Sorcerer. Just give me a second, okay?"

He says nothing, but his hands drop to his sides. Lex hands him the lantern and takes a step back.

"Shadow Walk."

A black magic circle forms under Lex. Gray's eyes widen as he watches her sink into her own shadow quickly. He had no idea she could do that. The shadow shoots underneath the rock pile easily without disturbing it. She's gone a few minutes and soon the shadow reappears back at Gray's feet. Her head and arms push out from the shadow like a swimmer surfacing and she uses the ground beside her to pull herself out.

"There are five men on the other side of the pile and there's nobody inside it. I told them to get back and yell if anything starts collapsing on their end."

He nods and reassumes his position, fist on palm. He proceeds to freeze the tunnel walls, leaving the debris mostly untouched. Once the ice barrier is sufficiently thick he starts haphazardly shoveling the rocks out of the way with a giant ice shovel. Eventually they break open a human sized space and start pulling the miners through. A couple of them are hurt but the others look alright. Lex addresses them as they help them out of the danger zone.

"Is anyone else left inside?"

"Yeah, Paul and Trevor were in the back and they got buried! I don't know where Richard went…he just vanished before the collapse and we thought he might have gotten out…"

They meet a chorus of cheers when they reach the entrance. Without stopping they head back in to find the other three, climbing into the space the other miners had been in.

"They said the back, but which of these is the back?"

There are a few smaller branching tunnels from here. They decide to start checking them together instead of separating and it doesn't take them long to find another collapsed tunnel. Lex vanishes into her shadow while Gray waits patiently outside.

When she returns she surfaces and heaves a miner up out of her shadow with her. Gray pulls him out while she goes back in for the second one. Both had been trapped under the rubble and both are in really bad shape, so they bring them to the entrance quickly.

A woman at the front of the crowd keeps sobbing.

"Where is Richard? Where is my Richie? My baby, you have to find him, please, he's my only son!"

They go back in and search the remaining tunnels. Time ticks by as they start getting frustrated.

"Where could this guy be? He wasn't anywhere near the other people."

"I'm not sure…he's got to be around here though. He didn't make it out, unless there's a back exit."

They enter a slightly collapsed room and find the miner, a rock pinning his leg to the ground. He's clutching his hand to his chest.

"Richard?"

"Get this thing offa me!"

Gray starts to move the rock, but as he does the guy moves frantically and knocks a partially fallen beam over. The roar of falling stone fills the room as Gray grabs the guy and turns to Lex.

"GET OUT-"

He's silenced by a massive slab of rock breaking free and falling onto Lex, blocking his path. He surrounds himself in ice and fights to hold up the weight of the collapsing tunnel.

"Dammit! Mirajane, if you hadn't told me to bring Lex she…damn…"

The weight presses him down and he pushes against it. The miner is sobbing.

"God above this is all my fault! I moved a support beam to get at a diamond for my family and the whole tunnel went! I'm such an idiot and now that pretty girl is dead! We're dead!"

Gray shuts his eyes tightly as he gives and collapses downward. After a few seconds he realizes he isn't in any pain and opens his eyes to find himself staring into pitch black darkness. He wonders momentarily if he's dead, but soft hands pulling his arm tell him otherwise. He's suddenly in blinding daylight and realizes he's just been pulled out of Lex's shadow. He heaves himself out and she reaches back in, retrieving Richard.

The teen's mother is in hysterics when she sees him. Gray leans forward and points at him accusatorily.

"Hey, you almost got everyone killed!"

This draws the crowd's attention. Richard looks up, shame and guilt permeating his features.

"I just wanted to help my family…"

"You aren't helping anyone by putting people in danger! Look, your leg is messed up and you can't work. What can you do for your family now?"

Richard sobs as his mother drops beside him and wraps her arms around his shoulders.

"Richie…what did you do?"

"I…I took down a support beam to mine a diamond!"

There's a collective gasp and angry shouts. Richard hands the diamond to Lex, since she's still kneeling beside him.

"I'm so sorry…"

"Why didn't you tell someone your family was having trouble?"

"I was embarrassed; I didn't want anyone to know I can't even support my own family…"

"Idiot. Is it worth your pride to suffer in silence?"

"Huh?"

"There are times when a man has to protect his pride and his honor, and there are times when he's beat. You can't think of your reputation when other people are suffering with you. Don't be afraid to reach out, everyone needs a hand sometime."

"Thank you…"

The crowd, after hearing Lex, settles down. The mayor takes the diamond from her and holds it above his head.

"The mage is right! We will start helping and uplifting each other starting now! Let's use this gem to pay for all of the medical bills and help the wounded get back on their feet!"

A resounding cheer punctuates his speech. He turns back to Lex and hand her a cloth bag.

"Here is your reward. Thank you for everything you have done. Please, join us in town for dinner, on us."

Lex takes the bag with a smile and looks at Gray. He surprises her by accepting the mayor's hospitality.

As they walk back into town she counts out some of the money and hands the rest of the bag to Gray. He holds it uncertainly.

"You didn't take very much."

"I agreed on thirty percent, remember?"

Gray shakes his head and counts out another twenty percent, handing it to her.

"No, I took your capabilities for granted. You're a mage; you should get your share."

"Thanks. I can't really blame you for being cold; Mirajane did kind of make you bring me."

"Oh…you uh, heard that?"

She laughs, nodding.

"I use Shadow Walk to get around quickly. It may hide the form, but it doesn't cancel out sound. It just muddles it."

"Your power is pretty useful then."

"I like to think so. I'm not nearly as powerful as you guys yet, though."

"You'll improve."

She nudges his arm.

"So you really thought I'd been crushed, huh?"

"Of course not!"

"You liar, you were worried about me!"

She grins at him as he tries to find a reply. They end up eating in town and heading back on the late train. Gray didn't want to admit it, but Lex was actually kind of fun to travel with.


	5. Home Again

When Lex gets home it's extremely late at night. The train ride had been long and surprisingly pleasant after Gray started actually talking to her. They'd exchanged funny guild stories for a majority of the ride. With a yawn she drops her bag back beside the couch.

She's surprised to see the light in the bedroom is still on. Squinting up at the clock she realizes it's nearly three in the morning. Lex can hear the rhythmic scratching of a pen as she pushes the door open.

"You're up late."

Lucy jumps a bit and looks up at her.

"Oh, welcome back! Did you just come in?"

"Yeah, I was in Nadia all afternoon. How was your mission with Natsu?"

She lets out an irritated groan and places her face in her palms.

"We were escorting a trade caravan and it was attacked. You get one guess as to what happened."

"Natsu destroyed the caravan?"

She nods and rubs her temples.

"The cargo wasn't hurt but the whole caravan was fried! They kept our reward to pay for its replacement!"

"Wow…"

"I hope your day went better than mine…"

"It was pretty good, actually. Gray and I went to help with a cave-"

"Wait a minute; you went on a job with _Gray_?"

"…Yes? Was I not supposed to?"

"No, its fine you did, it's just weird. Multiple people have told me Gray doesn't like taking jobs with anyone. He's always featured in the lone wolf section of Magnolia's Mage Glamour magazine."

"He only brought me along because Mirajane made him. She knew I was only taking small jobs and wanted me to go on a better paying one."

"Hey, why do you only take small jobs anyway?"

"Back at Lamia Scale the mages had ranks. Fairy Tail doesn't, but I wasn't sure if they did there for a while. I kind of liked meeting the people of Magnolia anyway so I just kind of stuck with it."

"Ranks?"

"S-Class mages are the highest ranked, strongest mages in the guild that get the impossibly hard jobs. A-Class is right below them and they take on most of the hardest missions with the best pay. B-Class mages get the slightly lesser missions, usually tracking down criminals or dealing with small scale monsters. C-Class mages mostly get the tiny extermination jobs and missions that don't have any fighting in them. D-Class mages are glorified errand people for the town."

"What class were you?"

"I was at rank D until I was ten, and I didn't get to rank B until I was sixteen."

"Why is that kind of ranking system even in place? Fairy Tail has never had to use one, nor have many other guilds."

"I think it's mostly in place for two reasons: popularity and security. Mages who are really popular rank faster because it spurs on their fans and raises the guild's popularity, regardless of skill level. In reality the only real difference between mages C through A are how much people like them. It also makes people feel better knowing they are getting an A-Class mage over a B-Class mage. Sometimes they only send A-Class to nobles just to make them feel important."

"But that's unfair to the other mages who aren't popular but try really hard!"

"Exactly. In Lamia Scale your image is everything. The only time the really great mages are recognized is when something big happens and ability becomes more important."

"Like what?"

"Like when a dark guild took over part of the city and tried to assassinate the mayor. At that point Class didn't matter, and the Master sent out only the people she knew could handle the situation. It caused a huge uproar because most of them were B-Class mages."

"Who makes up the D-Class?"

"Mostly kids and mages with subpar abilities. It's pretty rare for Lamia Scale to let children in, but they do it occasionally if they see enough potential in them or they happen to be one of the guild members kids. I grew up with seven other children but they haven't had any new kids in a long time. Most just train until their teens and then join."

"That makes sense…they don't want the kids trying to take jobs above their level."

"There are only so many times you can handle going under a house to fetch a cat before you snap, though."

"That happened a lot?"

"Mrs. Penski owned fourteen cats and never paid anyone to block off the space under her house. Yes, it happened CONSTANTLY."

Lex fishes out her coin purse and holds it up triumphantly.

"On a more important note, I can afford a bed!"

"Great! Let's go shopping in the morning!"

"You do know morning is three hours away, right?"

"What?!"

Lucy grabs her clock and whines.

"I wasn't watching the time; I'm going to be so tired tomorrow!"

"What were you doing, anyway?"

With a blush Lucy frantically pushes the stack of papers into her desk drawer.

"Nothing! Nothing, let's sleep."

Lex raises an eyebrow at her, but says nothing. She goes back in the living room and collapses onto the couch. She's asleep before her head hits the pillow.


	6. Company

Lex and Lucy stand triumphantly in their bedroom. It had taken a ton of switching around but they had finally found a way to fit all of the furniture into the room. Now Lex has a nice warm bed and a dresser all to herself, as well as a little corner desk she got on discount because people wouldn't buy them. They complained the desk was too small, but for Lex it was perfect.

They arrive at the guild just before lunch. Lucy opens the doors and Lex pulls her to the side just in time to avoid a chair someone had thrown.

"Lively as always I see."

They make their way inside and go seat themselves at a table that hasn't been wrecked yet. The two main fighters are Natsu and Elfman. The two are spouting something about being manly when Lex prods Lucy's arm with her elbow.

"Watch this."

Lex holds her arm out and a black magic circle appears below her palm.

"Imprison."

A black shadow shaped like a hand shoots forward across the floor towards the two guys. As soon as it is underneath them Lex snaps her fingers into a fist and they vanish into the shadow. She flips her fist over and the shadow shoots up the wall and to the ceiling above where they had been fighting. Her hand opens as Natsu and Elfman drop headfirst from the shadow and plummet to the ground.

Everyone erupts into laughter as the two crash land and look around angrily for the culprit. Lex can't hide her smirk and eventually they catch her.

"HEY! I'll get you for that one!"

"Natsu! You can't hit Lex!"

"Why not? I've hit her before!"

"Hitting women is unmanly!"

Thus a second argument started. Lex shrugs in defeat and goes back to her conversation without messing with them anymore. Eventually Lucy gets up to go talk to Mirajane.

"Hey, Lex?"

She looks up as Gray sits opposite her at the table.

"Hello."

"Taken any new jobs yet?"

"Not yet, I spent my morning buying some furniture."

"Good. Come with me then."

Lex can't help it. She's confused. Just last night Lucy was telling her about how Gray worked alone and now he was asking her to go on another job with him?

"Mirajane didn't set you up again, did she? I haven't gotten a chance to ask her not-"

"No, she didn't. Do you want to go or not?"

Lex grins at him broadly. She didn't think he'd want her to go again since the first time was forced. It made for a great confidence booster.

"Yeah, I'll go."

"We leave at eight in the morning on Friday, alright? Meet me at the station."

"Where are we going?"

"The swamps, we're looking for a plant an apothecary needs to make medicine with. It's too dangerous for him to go and he can't find any to buy on the market right now."

He passes her a paper with a picture and description of the plant on it. It looks like an ugly, partially withered flower growing on a tree root, but apparently it's some kind of mushroom.

"The spores cause minor and temporary paralysis as well as black outs?"

"And it grows on a tree called the Twisted Willow. Ever heard of it?"

"No?"

"It's a tree native to the swamps. It looks like a normal willow tree, but it isn't. The branches are rubbery and bend so it can grab its prey like an arm. Then it shoves the victim into its digestive cavity like a demented Venus Flytrap."

"…I can see why he didn't want to go."

"Any problem with it?"

"No. I've never been to the swamps before, should be interesting."

"Alright. I'll see you Friday morning."

He gets up to leave.

"Gray?"

"What?"

"Your pants…"

"CRAP!"

He runs off to find them as Lucy returns to the table. Mirajane is walking beside her.

"What did Gray want?"

"Oh, he asked me to go on another job with him."

Mira claps her hands together happily.

"It worked! I knew you two would get along!"

"I think it's less we're 'getting along' and more I'm 'easy to tolerate'."

"Well whatever it is, it got Gray to start taking someone with him for once. He's one of the only Fairy Tail members that just refuse to make a team."

"We aren't a team, we never agreed to that. I doubt someone who likes working alone would form one."

"But this is your second job together!"

"Exactly. It's only the second, he may never ask again. Maybe he just needs help this one time."

"Well whatever the excuse, he asked."

Lex waves Mirajane away dismissively.

"I appreciate the thought, but please don't try shoving me together with other mages…I'm new, I need to get to know people first."

"Oh you aren't new anymore; you've been here for weeks! You've gotten to know Gray~"

It dawns on her that she'd been with Fairy Tail for nearly a month now. Wow, time flies…

"I still don't know that much about him."

"What DO you know about him?"

She lets out an irritated sigh.

"He has a bad habit, doesn't like traveling with people, and Natsu fights with him more than anyone else."

Mirajane sighs with a smile.

"You'll warm up eventually."

She finally leaves, so Lucy sits down slowly. She sets a pint of beer in front of Lex.

"You didn't have to get me anything."

"I don't mind. So…what do you think about all this?"

"I think Mirajane is a bit nosier than people give her credit for."

Lucy laughs and shakes her head.

"I meant what do you think about Gray?"

"Oh…he's nice, I guess. His magic is pretty."

"That's good! I was afraid he was rude to you."

"He was just irritated last time, I'm sure he isn't like that all the time. He just seems…laid back? I'm not really sure how to put it."

Lex grabs Lucy by the back of the neck, pushing her forward just in time to avoid a flaming piece of bench.

"I'm starting to think that fire extinguishers should be everywhere in this guild…"


	7. The Swamps

Friday morning rolls around and Lex finds herself waiting at the Magnolia station. She's a little too early so she decides to sit and read a local magazine while she waits.

"Levy sounds so sweet, I wish she would come back from her job soon…Those guns look so cool! I should introduce myself to Bisca and Alzack sometime."

Lex suddenly sits forward in her seat. She examines a page feeling a bit overwhelmed.

"Woah…It's me…"

In big bold letters across the top of the page are the words "NEWEST MEMBER: ALEXIS GRIMSEVER" and there's a huge picture of her on it. They must have snapped it while she was out on a job. It shows her leaning on a wall looking uncharacteristically serious. She reads the description.

_Alexis (Lex) Grimsever is the newest member to join the Fairy Tail guild. The mysterious, deadly air about her could intimidate even the most powerful enemies! Watch out for this up-and-coming beauty! How powerful is this sexy shadow mage?! What secret is she hiding behind that serious look, and will she be the next guild star to win our hearts? Find out in next month's issue!_

She closes the magazine and shakes her head.

"Mysterious? Not exactly a word I'd describe myself as."

Gray shows up on time and Lex is moderately surprised he has all of his clothes on. He's even wearing a long, white coat.

"Ready to go?"

"Yep, train should be here soon."

He looks at the magazine beside her on the bench and chuckles.

"You read that garbage?"

"I was curious. They have a page featuring me, it's weird."

"The whole 'mysterious beauty' thing? That's just media drivel trying to keep people interested."

"So…you read that garbage too?"

Gray attempts (and fails) to make a smooth recovery while Lex laughs. The two are interrupted by the train whistle.

They board the train and settle into their seats. The ride is long and uneventful and they have to change trains a few times before they finally arrive at the right town. After that they have to walk.

"So how much of the fungus do we need to bring back?"

Gray pulls a burlap sack from his pocket and hands it to her.

"We have to fill this completely to receive our reward."

"That's not too bad. It's as big as a gallon freezer bag."

He stops moving and turns to look at Lex.

"Be careful from here on out, okay? Especially since you've never been here before."

She nods and they continue walking. The ground continues to get softer and the foliage thicker as they move in. The stench of standing water fills the air as they continue to push through the muck.

"I'm never going to get all this mud off my boots…"

She pulls up the dirty leg of her cargo pants and knocks her thick, black boots on the side of a huge tree root to throw some of the filth off. Gray just shakes his head.

"If you didn't want them to get dirty you shouldn't have worn them."

"I don't mind them getting dirty, I mind having the clean them later."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"Look over there!"

Lex points at a massive tree just across the water from them. The mushrooms are growing in plain sight right below it on its winding roots. Gray places his fist on his open palm and she watches the light blue magic circle appear.

"Ice Make: Floor."

A thick layer of ice coats the top of the water. Gray starts across it without any trouble while Lex attempts to follow. She gets a few feet across before slipping and falling flat on her back.

"Ow…"

"Are you alright?"

He returns to her side and offers her his hand. She takes it and he hauls her to her feet.

"There. Step more carefully this time."

She tries, but ends up slipping again. Gray catches her by her elbows and steadies her.

"You're really bad at this…"

"Hey, I don't have as much experience walking on ice as you do."

"You've never been ice-skating before?"

Lex looks away with a frown.

"No…"

"Here."

Gray takes one of her hands in his and places his other hand on the bare skin of her back. His hands are colder than a normal person should be, but it doesn't bother her. She just feels embarrassed he has to help her across like this.

They reach the other side awkwardly. Lex looks up at the tree and remembers what Gray said about it.

"How does it know you're there to grab you? It's a tree…"

"No clue."

"Wait…have you ever done a job like this before?"

"Nope."

Lex blanks and tilts her head to the side.

"Then…how do we…get the mushroom…"

Gray steps forward slowly and plucks one off the root with his sleeve over his face to keep the spores out. Lex suddenly points up, an alarmed look on her face.

"Look out!"

He dodges a branch that goes to grab him, but a second one catches him by the wrist and snatches him up into the air. Lex attempts to reach him as a branch wraps around her torso and pins her arms to her sides. The third branch seizes Gray's other wrist and pulls his arms taut as he struggles to bring his hands together. They pull him towards an opening in the tree and try to shove him inside, but he plants his feet on either side of the opening to push himself back from the cavity. A stench like that of bad breath and stomach acid pours from the hole beneath him.

"Lex! Use your shadow thing to get us out of here!"

"It doesn't work like that!"

"What do you mean it doesn't work like that?!"

He watches her flex her arms with a growl, pulling them upwards enough to push the branch up her torso to free her elbows. Black magic circles appear in front of her clenched fists.

"Black Cat!"

Shadowy mist erupts from her hands and he watches it collect around each of her fingers and solidify into long, sharp black claws. She thrusts her hand outwards with a yell and slices easily through the branch holding her. It spasms and drops her as another branch snaps around her ankle, holding her upside down. She flexes upwards and slices through it as well, freeing herself and twisting in the air so she can land on one of the branches holding Gray's arms. She severs it seconds before a branch slings itself into her side and flings her to the ground.

She lands on a mess of roots and mud with a splat, the wind knocked out of her. She realizes too late she's landed on a patch of the fungi as the feeling begins to leave her body. Her eyes flutter open just in time to see the aftermath of Gray's magic.

Small, sparkling flurries of snowy ice are falling gently towards the ground from the frozen tree. Lex is overcome by the dizzying feeling of seeing the swirling, reflected light. It isn't long before her eyes flutter closed and she drops into unconsciousness.


	8. Camping Out

Lex finally stirs, her eyes blinking rapidly. She moves sluggishly until she manages to get herself into a sitting position.

"Good, you're awake."

"Ugh…I feel like hell…"

"You should, you landed in a huge patch of the stuff. You've been out for hours."

Lex looks up at the dark sky and frowns. She then glances around herself and realizes they are now on the edge of the swamp. The ground beneath her is significantly firmer.

"Did you carry me here?"

"I had to; I couldn't leave you there for the tree when it thawed out."

"Oh, uh, thank you."

"It wasn't hard. You are kind of heavy though. Lay down, you're probably still out of it."

Lex shakes her head and stretches her limbs. Her whole body is tingly like your feet get when they go numb. What he said finally dawns on him when he notices Lex isn't making eye contact with him anymore.

"Er, I mean, you're heavy, but you aren't fat or anything. What I'm trying to say is that muscle is denser than fat. You don't have much fat."

He closes his eyes and takes a breath, rephrasing his words.

"You're in good shape."

When he looks at her again she's grinning broadly.

"What's with that face?"

"Sorry, you just looked so dumbfounded there."

"Says the woman covered head to toe in mud."

Lex's eyes grow wide and she looks down at herself. Her white top and cargo pants are caked in dried mud. She notices the back of Gray's white coat is too.

"I should change, I'll be right back."

She grabs her bag and ducks behind a large tree. It takes her a while to get the mud off of the bare skin of her back, but she gets most of it and dresses quickly. When she returns she's wearing a purple tank top and a gray denim vest. Her shorts are the same color.

"Gray…"

"Hmm?"

"You're naked again."

He looks down at his boxers and reaches for his discarded clothing. He puts everything back on except the muddy coat.

A look of realization crosses her face.

"Wait! The mushrooms!"

He reaches into his bag and pulls out the burlap sack. It's filled to bursting and Lex lets out a sigh of relief.

"Oh good…"

"By the way, what did you mean when you said your magic didn't work that way?"

"In order for me to enter a shadow I have to be on or near a moderately flat surface that's big enough. Think of the shadow as a hole. It has to be big enough to get into, and it has to be in something. The same rule applies to using it on other people."

"So what were the claw things?"

"There are two types of shadow magic I know: fluid and solid. Fluid is the misty type, and is mostly used for travel and stealth. Solid is used for combat, and consists of hardened shadow."

"You know both types?"

"You could say that…Missy tried to teach me both types at once. It ended up making it hard for me to master both, so both types are lacking. I need a lot more practice to refine them."

"That was your sister, right?"

Lex launches into the same explanation she had given Lucy before. Gray listens, intrigued. Eventually the story is over and they cook some provisions over the fire and eat together. Lex stokes the fire while Gray digs a bedroll out of his bag.

"Looks like we're camping tonight."

"We can't walk back?"

"No, the woods around here turn into a maze at night. We should just sleep and head back to town in the morning."

Lex looks up into the tree canopy with a frown. She's never liked camping, but at least this time she isn't alone. She lays out her own bedroll and settles in for the night.

They'd only been asleep for a few hours when Lex is awakened by a twig snapping. She looks around the inky blackness for the source of the sound. The fire is out even though it should have lasted much longer than that. Gray is still snoring loudly a foot away from her. She slowly reaches out and shakes his leg, hissing a whisper.

"Gray. GRAY."

He grunts and rolls over, now fully awake.

"What?"

"There's someone here."

They both listen carefully as the silence weighs heavily in the air. They hear a shuffle and begin moving, slowly stuffing their bedrolls back into their bags. Lex grabs his arms suddenly and pulls him to the side just as something goes swishing by his head.

"What was that?!"

"A blow dart, stay down."

They wait a moment until she pulls him to his feet and grabs his hand, sucking them both into her shadow.

No sound, no sight, no external source of feeling. The first time he'd been in her shadow he thought he'd been crushed by rock, so he hadn't really paid attention to the environment. He can't tell if his eyes are open and is barely aware of the movement of his body.

"Gray. Can you hear me?"

Lex's voice sounds like it's coming from all around him.

"Where are you?"

A hand grasps his, pulling him slightly to the left. Another hand touches his cheek to turn his head.

"Look closely. Focus your eyes."

He stares forward, particles of light barely filtering in through the darkness.

"Trees?"

"Good. I can't help you hear, but there are footsteps coming towards us from that direction.

They don't have long to wait as the person in question comes sneaking around the tree.

"There!"

A fist of ice comes springing from Lex's shadow and punches their pursuer in the face. He drops like a rock.

"Is he down?"

"Yeah, you got him good. He's out cold."

She pushes him forward and out of her shadow. Without her aid he can't see much in the darkness.

"How did you do that?"

"I'm a shadow mage, remember? I can see in the dark like you can walk on ice, and I can lend a little bit of my ability to someone as long as they are in my shadow."

"I probably should have known that…That was really impressive."

She's glad it's dark so he can't see her blush. No matter how many times she gets compliments they still embarrass her a little, especially when they're from fellow mages. Lex fumbles with a fire and the two of them inspect their pursuer. He's a scraggly looking guy with a belt of dart guns. Lex opens his bag and whistles.

"Gray, look!"

The bag in question is full of jewelry and money. Gray takes one look inside before binding the man's arms.

"I think we just caught a thief."

"Let's try and get back into town. I think I can find my way back."

"Alright, just be careful."

"Gray?"

"What?"

"You're naked."

"DAMMIT."

"…I'm not really sure when you did it, but your clothes are in my shadow."


	9. Catching Criminals And Bullying Bullies

It takes Lex a couple of hours to guide them to the town. The sun is just starting to break over the horizon when they arrive and are greeted by a small mob in the town square. Based on the way people are talking it sounds like they woke up and discovered the robbery not long before the two of them got there. Gray drops the bound man in front of the crowd and straightens his back with a crack.

"Now YOU are heavy. Jeez."

Lex holds up the man's bag and the crowd erupts into ecstatic cheering. A few men haul the semi-conscious criminal away.

"How did you find him?"

"He ambushed us in the woods outside the swamp. We didn't know he'd robbed the town until we looked in his bag."

"I'm so glad you two caught him! He's Sleeping Stanly!"

"Who?"

"He's a criminal who uses poison to knock people out. He robbed everyone and even killed one of the guards here, not to mention what he's done in other towns! He cleans out small towns and escapes under the cover of the night."

"What a coward…"

"Please, let us reward you for helping us!"

Gray holds up a hand to stop him.

"We can't accept an award for a job we didn't take. If the guy has a bounty we'll take that instead."

"Wait…are the two of you mages?"

Lex pulls up her tank top a bit to reveal the guild mark on her stomach. The man laughs heartily.

"What an idiot to attack two mages! Thank you Fairy Tail, I'll make sure your guild gets credit for catching this scoundrel. Isn't there anything we can do for you?"

The two look at each other tiredly.

"Do you happen to have somewhere we can sleep?"

He shows them into his house and offers them the guest room. Lex takes the bed and Gray sleeps on the floor. They wake up around lunch and end up getting accosted by the townspeople before they can finally slip away. Gray yawns and flops onto the bench in the station.

"The only bad thing about being a mage is the popularity. It gets irritating sometimes."

"They mean well. We're like celebrities to them."

They order some food from a concession stand while they wait for the train to arrive. Lex points to the edge of the sack poking out of Gray's bag.

"Where do we deliver this to anyway?"

"The apothecary lives in Magnolia, so we can just take it to him when we get home."

They do just that when they arrive late that afternoon. The apothecary is a young man with curly brown hair.

"Thank you so much for getting these for me! I haven't been on my own long and I keep forgetting to restock. Now I can make that anesthetic again!"

He gives them their reward and they head out after splitting it.

"Well, today was an eventful day. I hope Mirajane has something strong, I feel like drinking until I pass out tonight."

Gray looks at her and raises an eyebrow.

"I didn't take you for a drinker."

"I enjoy a good buzz now and then."

"Don't get too wasted, I'm not carrying you home."

"I've never needed anyone to before. Well, unless weird mushroom spores are involved."

They both laugh and continue back to the guild. As they are walking they come across a kid being bullied. Gray narrows his eyes angrily and Lex looks at him questioningly.

"What's wrong?"

"That's Romeo. He's Macao's son."

"Why are they bullying him?"

"Some of the people who live in Magnolia think Fairy Tail is full of people who only drink and fight. They have no respect for us and the mage's kids get bullied. Romeo gets it the worst because Macao hasn't been taking any jobs recently."

"Didn't Lucy and Natsu just bring Macao back from the mountains? I heard he was in really bad shape."

"Yeah, he still is. He's been recovering at home."

Their attention is drawn to the kids again. Romeo looks infuriated.

"Say that again?!"

"You'd have been better off if your useless old man had bit the dust on that mountain! Just goes to show that all those mage's are weak! He should just give up and die already!"

"I'm proud of my dad! He's an awesome mage! He beat nineteen monsters all by himself!"

"If he was so awesome he wouldn't have been dragged back with his tail between his legs!"

Lex has an unreadable expression on her face as she raises her hand a bit. A black magic circle sprawls out from under her fingertips.

"Puppet."

The shadows of the boys bullying Romeo rise up off the ground. Romeo jumps back and the boys laugh.

"Whatcha afraid of, wuss?"

Lex moves her fingers slightly and the shadows start wrapping their arms around the boy's shoulders. They see the shadow puppets and run away screaming. Romeo spots Lex and Gray standing off to the side and runs up to them.

"Did you do that?! That was awesome!"

Lex ruffles his hair with a smile.

"Just remind them next time they insult Fairy Tail that one of those mages sent them running home with THEIR tails between their legs."

Romeo grins and runs off. Gray looks at Lex questioningly.

"Why did you do that?"

She looks at him and her expression changes to a smile.

"I wouldn't have been able to enjoy my buzz later if I'd just walked off without terrorizing those little bastards."

Gray busts out laughing and Lex grins cheekily. They walk back to the guild together and Gray buys her a beer.

When she gets home she flops down onto her bed with a happy sigh. The impending hangover is well worth the good natured partying from earlier.


	10. Team Black Ice

Several days later Lex is sitting in the guild hall when Mirajane comes hurrying over and plops herself between Lex and Lucy.

"Look at this!"

She thrusts a local magazine and an envelope into Lex's face. The envelop contains a letter from the town telling Lex there wasn't a bounty, but it also has a clipping from the paper in it. The article is titled "FAIRY TAIL MAGES CATCH CRIMINAL" and has a really good picture of her and Gray standing together and looking awesome in general. She returns the items to the envelope and stuffs it into her pocket. Mirajane flips open the magazine and points to one of the pages excitedly.

Lex notices that the magazine picture is the same one that is in the article, but with the headline "RISING STAR AND HEARTTHROB FORM TEAM." She reads further.

_Lex Grimsever and Gray Fullbuster have been frequently seen together the last few weeks. Has the enigmatic beauty of Fairy Tail formed a new team with the lone wolf? Has she finally warmed up the cold, yet sexy Gray? Will these two be the new dynamic team that we've been rooting for?! What is the fate of Team Black Ice?! Ladies, hold on to your hearts! Gray may have finally met his perfect partner!_

Lex grabs the magazine and flings it away.

"Where the hell did they get 'Team Black Ice' from?"

Mirajane's smile breaks and she tears up some.

"O-oh, it was you, Mira…wait, you told them we were a team?"

"I might have thought it was a good idea at the time…"

Lex wants to be mad at Mirajane, but she just pinches the bridge of her nose to fight off her headache.

"I told you we never agreed we were a team."

"I was *sniffle* just being hopeful."

She looks to Lucy for help.

"Why don't you talk to Gray about it?"

"He's going to think I had something to do with this…"

"He may not even know yet, go tell him about it."

"Ugh…"

Lex hauls herself to her feet and leaves the guild. She decides today would be a good day to go for a walk outside of town. She needs to clear her head.

Eventually she finds a pond and sits down on the bank. She skips a few stones across the water before letting herself fall backwards onto the soft grass.

"I thought peer pressure went away when you grew up…"

"Nope, that would be too easy."

She jumps and flips on her side. Gray is standing by a nearby tree.

"You scared me!"

"Sorry, I was looking for you."

"This is about the team thing, right?"

He takes a seat beside her and skips a rock across the water himself. Lex sits up and picks his discarded shirt up off the ground, folding it and placing it beside him. She feels too awkward to say anything about it.

"Team Black Ice, huh?"

"That's what is said."

"At least it's more creative than fire brain's Team Natsu."

They skip stones for a few minutes in silence.

"You know, I've been stopped by reporters all day. Thought I'd never get away."

"That's why I didn't go into the city today."

"Let's do it."

Lex looks at him, her face registering confusion and shock.

"Wait…do you mean-"

"Let's form a team. Team Black Ice."

"Are you really okay with that?"

"The media called me the 'lone wolf' because I never formed a team. I never formed a team because I don't get along with the other people that don't have a team and I didn't want to join a preexisting team. You make teams with people you get along with and trust, so it's best to form one with someone whose ability compliments your own."

"Does the latter apply?"

"I think so. Magic is interesting, there are plenty of combinations."

Gray holds out his hand to her. She takes it and they shake firmly.

"As of today, we are an official team."

With that they stand and head back to the guild. Lex gives Gray his shirt and it dawns on him he should put it back on.

Right as they walk into the guild hall they are stopped by a reporter.

"Do the two of you have anything to say about the recent suspicions that the two of you have formed a team?"

The entire guild goes dead silent as the recorder is held up to Gray's face.

"Yes, Alexis Grimsever and I are an official team."

As cheers and gasps break out, Lex looks over to the bar where Mirajane is clapping excitedly. Makarov is on the bar next to her grinning broadly from ear to ear. The reporter hurries away clutching his recorder happily as Natsu rushes up to them.

"Lex! Fight me!"

"W-Why?!"

"Because you're the perverts teammate, that means you're probably strong!"

Gray practically butts heads with Natsu as he lunges for him.

"What did you call me?!"

"Pervert!"

"Dragon breath!"

"Ice-brain!"

She slowly slips from the argument and joins Lucy at her table.

"Isn't it ironic?"

"Hmm?"

"That we'd end up roommates AND the teammates of the two biggest rivals in Fairy Tail?"

Lex just laughs and looks back at the fight going on behind her.

"It's certainly an interesting situation."


	11. Lullaby

"You should pick this time."

"I should?"

"I picked the last few times, it's your turn."

"I hate picking jobs…"

Lex eyes the bulletin board with an indecisive stare. Eventually she points at one and turns to Gray.

"What do you think?"

"Clearing out Grimbles? That's easy enough."

Lex tears the page down and inspects it. The town of Rose Water has been having trouble with Grimbles and they want mages to come drive them out. Grimbles are little mole creatures that burrow under fields and destroy crops, but they are usually pretty sensitive to magic. That's why they never get near communities where a lot of magic is present.

"It's a sizable reward for an extermination job."

"They must be having trouble getting people to come out. Some mages don't think handling Grimbles is worth their time."

"What do you think about it?"

"Shouldn't take us more than a couple of hours to chase them off and the reward is nice."

"Great, let's get going then."

There isn't a station between Magnolia and Rose Water, so they decide to hoof it. The woods make a great shortcut and the greenery is beautiful. They reach the farmland and take up positions in the center. Lex crosses her wrists in front of herself.

"This gives me an excuse to practice at least. Assassin's Bracers!"

Hard, solid shadow coats the top of her fists and the front of her arms to her elbows. She concentrates hard on trying to make the shadow completely incase her arms and palms. Sweat beads on her forhead, but she doesn't gain much ground. Gray is walking around placing spikes of ice around them to keep pushing the Grimbles back as Lex exudes more magic to help chase them away.

She hisses a curse under her breath as the shadow shatters and falls away. The second and third attempts end the same way.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to cover more of my body in solid shadow."

"I see. So that's one of your magic handicaps?"

Lex sighs as the shadow crumbles away, the fourth try a failure.

"Unfortunately. I can only get it to cover half of my forearm and the back of my hand and fingers."

"I'm done, so just tell me when you're ready and we can head back."

She wipes the sweat from her brow.

"I'm good, we can go. Think the farmers will be pleased?"

"The Grimbles shouldn't be coming back anytime soon. Let's get our payment and go."

They do just that and head back into the woods. Gray breaks off to go deeper into the bushes and Lex patiently waits for him.

A sudden crash and shouting calls her attention in his direction. She cautiously heads that way and finds his clothes discarded on a tree branch. It sounds like Natsu up ahead.

"There's no way there'd be a bathroom in the forest anyway!"

"And weren't _you _the one barging in when a guy is going to the bathroom, you bastard?!"

"Exhibitionist!"

"Talking matchstick!"

Lex breaks free of the tree line and goes to stand beside Lucy.

"What are they, third graders?"

"Boys will be boys."

She steps closer to them and offers Gray his clothing.

"You should get dressed. Then we can all sit down on that pretty cliff over there and have a civil conversation. We are all comrades from the same guild after all."

He begrudgingly gets dressed and they all sit in the soft grass together. Happy fishes in the lake off the cliff while everyone chats. Lex hands Lucy a half of a loaf of bread from her bag.

"We were on a job in the farms northeast of here. One of the ladies gave me some herb bread, its good."

"You guys were coming back into town?"

Gray nods and reaches around Lex's shoulders to break off a piece of bread.

"The woods here are a great shortcut to Magnolia."

"Um, excuse me? A please and thank you?"

"See? See! See!"

Lucy glares at Happy.

"You were bragging about your nose, but you didn't even realize Gray was there."

"There are some things you don't want to smell."

Lex stifles a laugh and looks at him guiltily. Natsu waves off Gray dismissively.

"Enough of you, get back by yourself."

"Of course. It'll be trouble if we don't get back soon."

Lex stands with him and pulls her bag onto her shoulders.

"Trouble? What kind of trouble."

A dark, distressed look crosses his face.

"Erza will be back soon."

The girls look at each other.

"Erza? Isn't she Fairy Tail's strongest female mage? Why do you guys look so petrified?"

"Really? I want to meet her! I've never seen a picture of her in any of the magazines, though. What kind of person is she?"

They answer in unison.

"Scary."

"Oh she can't be that bad…right?"

They start trying to find something to compare Erza to.

"Wild animal?"

"Beast?"

"More like evil demon!"

"That's about right if you're talking about how scary she is."

"Actually, maybe it's even worse."

Lex and Lucy look at each other uncertainly.

"I-It can't be that bad."

Suddenly, sand begins blowing all around them. Gray struggles to help free Lex from the pile they are all buried in.

"It's a mage!"

"Where is Happy?!"

Scrambling around they eventually free each other from the sand and hurry after Happy. They find him being spit roasted with several people standing around. One man either looks like or is a giant chicken, and another one is gray-skinned, short, and bald. Male orange-haired twins in matching clothes stand beside a tall, levitating black haired man with a crystal ball. They burst into the clearing quickly and Happy cries out to them.

"Thank goodness! I won't taste weird!"

Natsu and Gray step into the clearing and crack their knuckles.

"You've got our friend there. You may be hungry, but we won't let you eat him."

"You're mages, right? From what guild?"

The little gray one lunges forward.

"None of your business! Sand Bomb!"

He summons a dingy yellow magic circle and sand winds around Natsu like a tornado. The chicken goes after Gray with a staff, shooting fire at him. Lex lunges at the twins to give Lucy an opening to get to Happy.

Gray finishes the chicken off easily and goes for the guy with the crystal ball. The ball glows and he holds it between himself and Gray.

"You'll get an unexpected visitor. The stars point to trouble with water and women. Beware of inner demons and unrequited love."

"Fortune Telling? Really?"

Gray walks up to the guy and elbows him without mercy. He shrieks and falls over next to the chicken.

"Assassin's Bracers!"

Lex brings her arms up in time to block the twin's weapons. Both have sai and continually slash at her with them as she blocks, the weapons clicking against the solid shadow. She easily disarms them and delivers a jaw shattering punch to both before knocking their heads together. She looks over and sees the other fights are over as well, so they tie everyone to a tree. Lex punches Gray in the arm.

"Show off, you didn't even use magic. Also, you're naked."

"You don't have to get serious about some small fry."

Lex suddenly turns toward the trees. The hair on the back of her neck is standing on end.

"Something is coming."

Everyone goes quiet. The little gray man coughs out a single word.

"Lulla…by…"

"Lullaby? What is he-"

"Watch out!"

Lex grabs Gray by the arm and shoves him out of the way as something black goes rushing past them. A shadow hand appears below the bound mages and they vanish into it, along with the base of the tree.

"What was that?!"

"A shadow mage, a really fast one!"

"Should we go after him?"

"No, he's already gone. I don't know what direction he went in."

"I can't sense him anymore. Must be crazy fast…"

They all begin heading back to town with an uneasy feeling.

Lullaby?


	12. Enter, Erza

The next morning Lex and Gray are sitting together in the guild hall. Since Erza is supposed to be back soon they decided it would be better to just stay in town today.

"Erza isn't really as bad as you guys were making her out to be, is she?"

"She's scary, like a monster."

Lex turns around to ask Lucy her opinion, but at the moment she's discussing the legitimacy of her team with Natsu. Gray turns around to throw in his two cents after hearing the conversation.

"There's no need to pick a team right now. Before long you'll be having more invitations than you can imagine."

Lex pokes him.

"What, are you saying I settled for you when I could be in some of these other teams?"

"You can't do better than me, don't worry."

"Right, I can't do any better than the naked ice mage."

Cana leans over the table towards them.

"You forgot your clothes again."

"DAMMIT."

She and Lex laugh as Gray looks around frantically for his clothing. Ever since she'd had a drinking match with Cana they'd become fast friends. Natsu flips around.

"Shut up!"

"Did you tell me to shut up?!"

"Shut up you pervert!"

"Sparrow head!"

"Slippery bastard!"

Lex turns to Cana, who is shaking her head slowly.

"Have they always been like that?"

"Yep, since the day they met. I swear all they do in their spare time is come up with insults to throw at each other."

"How long have you known them?"

"We've been in Fairy Tail since we were children. Erza, Mirajane, and Elfman too."

"Wow…that's a lot of kids…"

"A lot of misplaced kids come through here…we're all orphans, technically. Natsu is a special case."

"Because he's a dragon slayer?"

"Yeah. Has he ever told you about the dragons?"

"No…"

"He was raised by a dragon named Igneel that mysteriously vanished on July 7 X777. He traveled around trying to find him until he ended up in Magnolia and Master invited him to join the guild. He's been a fiery thorn in our side ever since."

"Nobody knows what happened to the dragons?"

"Nope. They haven't been seen or heard from since."

Lex starts to ask another question but she gets distracted by the sight of Gray throwing Natsu, who lands on Lucy.

"Gray! Don't crush Lucy!"

"He was picking a fight, how could I not honor his request?"

"Settle down and put your clothes on!"

Natsu is up and in his face again in record time.

"You started it, droopy eyes!"

"When exactly did I start it, squinty eyes?!"

"Talking pants!"

"Idiot!"

Lucy watches the display in disgust.

"Their level is too low…"

"Aye sir."

The entire guild is silenced by the doors flying open. Loki is standing in the doorframe looking terrified.

"THIS IS BAD! Erza is back!"

Lex watches everyone in the guild suddenly freeze. The tension is thick enough to be cut by a knife. She gets up and goes to stand beside Lucy.

The rhythmic crunch of heavy boot steps becomes louder as a shadow falls in the doorway. In walks a woman wearing a blue skirt and an armored chest plate holding a massive decorated horn above her head. Lucy gasps beside her.

"She's pretty!"

The red haired woman in question sets down the horn and addresses Mirajane.

"Is Master back?"

"Welcome back! No, he's at the regular meeting."

The following exchange Lex doesn't see coming. She can only stare dumbfounded as Natsu and Gray link arms, sweating from nerves, and Erza goes around the room picking out people and telling them to stop doing things. Lucy leans over to whisper in her ear.

"Is she part of the disciplinary committee?"

"I can see why people are afraid of her…she's so strict, though it isn't as bad as it thought it would be…"

"She's got a viper's tongue, but she looks normal."

Erza turns to the guys.

"Gray. Natsu."

"Y-Yo Erza, we're getting along like always!"

"Aye!"

"I see. Even best friends fight from time to time, but I prefer to see you on good terms."

Lex rubs the back of her neck awkwardly and looks to Lucy.

"D-Did Natsu just start talking like Happy?"

"I've never seen Natsu like that!"

Mirajane taps on their shoulders and shows them a crude light pen drawing of Erza beating Natsu.

"Natsu challenged Erza to a fight once and was badly beaten. Then she beat up Gray after seeing him walking around half naked. She also beat up Loki when he flirted with her, but he reaped what he sowed."

Erza walks towards the boys and they stiffen.

"Natsu, Gray, I have a favor to ask. I heard something disturbing after having finished my job. Normally I would ask for the Master's opinion, but I must act quickly so I've decided for myself. I want you two to help me. Will you lend me your power?"

The guild breaks into murmurs as Mirajane brings her hands up to her face.

"Natsu, Gray, and Erza…I never thought about it before, but…this could be the strongest team in Fairy Tail!"

Lucy and Lex look at each other, eyes wide.

"What could possibly be so horrible an S-Class mage would need help?!"


	13. Going After Eisenwald

"Why do I have to team up with you?!"

"That's my line! If Erza wants help I'm the only person she needs!"

"Then go by yourself! I don't wanna go!"

"So stay home and get beaten up by Erza later!"

The guys are at it again, bickering in the middle of the train station and making a scene. Lex and Lucy are sitting on a nearby bench pretending not to know them. Happy turns to Lex and chews a fish absently as he talks to her.

"Why are you two here anyway?"

"Mira asked us to go and keep these two in line since they fight so much."

"Then why don't you stop them?"

"I don't think even a twister could stop then…"

Of course when Erza shows up they immediately stop and pretend to be friends again. Lex stares wide-eyed up at the massive cart of luggage Erza is pulling behind her. The poor luggage boy looks at the bags overwhelmed as she leaves them to go stand in front of Lucy.

"And you are? I saw you yesterday at Fairy Tail but I never got your name."

"I'm the new recruit, Lucy. Mira asked Lex and I to come along with you. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"I am Erza, as you already know. So you're the one who defeated that monster gorilla with a single finger. I'm grateful to have you with us; I'll be counting on you."

Lucy's jaw drops in shock and she can't find the words to reply. Erza turns to Lex next.

"You must be Lex."

"Yes, I'm another new recruit."

"I heard about how you captured that criminal after scaring him so badly he fainted with only your glare. You will be a formidable ally."

Lex is also struck speechless. Natsu breaks away from Gray with a suddenly serious expression.

"Erza, I have one condition for going on this trip."

"What is it? Tell me."

"When we get back, fight me! It'll be different from last time!"

"I'm not very confident, but I accept."

Gray mutters something to Natsu about him having a death wish, but Natsu is too excited about the prospect of his fight to care. His flame is completely smothered when they board the train, though. Lex is sitting between the guys using a flyer to fan him.

"You really can't handle transportation, can you?"

Gray shakes his head.

"You may as well not bother; he's really pathetic acting like this after picking a fight."

"Being sick like this must cause him a lot of pain though…"

Erza looks up with a smile.

"It can't be helped, come sit with me."

"Aye."

"Relax a little."

"Aye."

Erza reels back and punches Natsu in the stomach, knocking him out.

"This way it's easy for him."

"Erza, isn't it about time you told us what we're supposed to be doing?"

"Our opponents are the dark guild, Eisenwald. They intend to use a magic called Lullaby."

They exchange a look of realization and Erza frowns deeply.

"I see…so you have encountered members of Eisenwald already."

Gray explains what happened and she nods.

"They were probably deserters who didn't want to follow the plan. The shadow that took them was probably one of Eisenwald's actual members. They undoubtedly didn't want their plan to be revealed."

She quickly explains overhearing the Eisenwald members talking about Lullaby in Onibus.

"If I had recognized the name in time I would have captured them then. I didn't remember the name Erigor until later. He's Eisenwald's leader, the 'Death God' Erigor. He's known for only taking assassination missions, which is why his guild was disbanded by the council. However, it continues to operate illegally."

Lex scoots away from Lucy a bit as she continues to shake and sweat.

"M-Maybe I should go back…"

Happy looks up at Lucy with a blank stare.

"Lucy juices are leaking out."

"It's sweat."

Erza grits her teeth angrily.

"If I had just recognized the name then I could have beaten the answers out of them. I don't think I could go up against an entire guild by myself, though."

Lex leans over and flags down one of the servers. She orders sandwiches in the hopes some food will calm everyone's nerves. It seems to do the trick and Erza gets a slice of cake for herself. Lucy breaks the silence.

"Erza, what kind of magic do you use?"

"It's really pretty! When she uses it all of her opponents blood comes out!"

"That's pretty, stupid cat?!"

Erza chuckles.

"My magic isn't nearly as pretty as Gray's magic."

"Really?"

Lucy hasn't seen it yet, so Gray puts on a demonstration. Lex remembers watching the ice flurries in the swamps before and smiles as he opens his palm and gives the little ice Fairy Tail symbol to Lucy.

"So that's why you two don't get along! You're ice and Natsu is fire!"

Lex waves her off dismissively.

"I don't think it's something that cliché …"

"Hey, Erza hasn't seen your power, Lex. Why don't you show her?"

Lex grins and a black magic circle appears behind her on the seat. She leans back and vanishes inside her shadow, which then flows up to the top of the ceiling above her seat. Only her head pops out as she looks down at her fellow guild members.

"A shadow mage? How interesting."

Lex corrects herself and drops gracefully down into her seat. It isn't long after that the train stops and they pull into the station.

They are preparing to depart when Lucy looks around in confusion.

"Guys? Where is Natsu?"

The sound of the train leaving the station calls their attention as Happy comments nonchalantly.

"We left him on the train."


	14. Onibus Station

Lex isn't sure what perturbs her the most: the fact they forgot Natsu existed, or how readily Erza pulled the emergency break to stop the train like it was no big deal. After that they quickly rented a magic car to go after the train. Erza hops in and barely waits for everyone to get inside before speeding off, forcing Gray to ride on top of the car since he didn't make it inside.

Lucy and Lex are clinging to each other as the car screeches down roads fast enough to turn the landscape into a sickening blur.

"We're going to die!"

"I-I'm sure we won't die…"

"Says you! You have shadows to escape into, I'm on my own!"

Lex begins slowly sinking into her shadow.

"NOOO DON'T LEAVE ME IN HERE ALONE!"

Lucy goes flying into the front of the car and Lex slams against the rim of her shadow, knocking the air out of her. The car has come to a screeching halt.

Both women topple out of the open car door and Lex catches sight of Gray. He has a massive knot forming on his forehead.

"Erza…What happened?"

"Natsu jumped out of the train and hit Gray."

She spots the dragon slayer in question lying off to the side with an equally terrible knot on his head as well. She walks over to Gray and helps him up off of the ground.

"Ugh, that idiot…"

"You should probably put ice on that…"

He brings his hand up to his head and pours some ice magic into his palm. From the sounds behind her it seems Natsu is back on his feet as well and ready for an argument. Thankfully, Erza steps in asking what happened.

"You left me behind!"

"My apologies, but you don't appear hurt. That's good."

The resounding clang of Erza's attempt to hug Natsu sounds horribly painful.

"HARD! I'm not alright! Some weirdo attacked me on the train! The one that took away those guys that tried to eat Happy! Said something about being from Eisenwald."

"YOU IDIOT! THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE WE ARE AFTER!"

"THIS IS THE FIRST I'VE HEARD OF IT!"

"I JUST TOLD THE STORY, LISTEN WHEN PEOPLE TALK!"

Lex flinches as Erza slaps Natsu around. She turns to Gray slowly.

"Should we do something? She knocked him out earlier…"

"Do you want to get slapped too?"

"…You're right, he'll be okay."

Gray walks over to Natsu, who has just managed to pick himself up after his impromptu beating.

"What did that guy look like?"

"Nothing special, but he had this weird skull flute with three eyes."

Lucy gasps and covers her mouth with her hand. She's shaking so much Lex hurries to her side to make sure she's okay.

"What's wrong?"

"I know about that flute…Lullaby, a cursed song. It's death magic."

"Like an incantation?"

"I've only read about it in a book, but it's a forbidden curse. It's cursed black magic that kills everyone who hears its song!"

There is a flurry of activity as everyone piles into the car. Erza speeds off even faster than before with Gray shouting at her to slow down.

"Powering this thing takes a lot of magic energy, even for you, Erza!"

"There's no time!"

They reach Kunagi Station only to discover Eisenwald has hijacked the train, so they take off again. Lucy is clinging desperately to Lex's arm when she speaks.

"Why take the train? It can only run on the rails, it doesn't make a good escape route."

"It's fast; they must be in a hurry."

Lex pulls Gray's shirt off of her face slowly and hands it to him.

"Gray…somehow, you managed to strip in this tiny car while were doing nearly a hundred miles per hour."

"Oh, uh…oops."

They start their drive again, reaching Oshibana and taking the streets with way too much speed. Happy keeps saying he's forgetting to tell Lucy something, but Lex isn't paying much attention. She's worried about how much magic Erza is using to drive the car. She can see the SE plug inflating and distending as they go. It doesn't help that she's fairly positive they've been avoiding collisions with Erza's reflexes alone.

They come to a fishtailing stop behind a massive crowd of people outside the station. Natsu is in bad shape, so Lucy has to carry him.

Erza approaches a station worker and demands to know the situation inside. He doesn't answer fast enough, so she knocks him out with a head-butt. Five unconscious workers later they discover Eisenwald has taken over.

Rushing into the station they encounter an entire army platoon that has been severely beaten. Wounded and possibly dead soldiers are scattered haphazardly around the first floor.

"They didn't stand a chance against an entire guild…"

Erigor is on the upper floor. A sizable crowd of mages bearing the Eisenwald symbol are standing around beneath him as he floats ominously in the air.

"I was expecting you, Fairy Flies."

A black haired man with a short ponytail wearing a long, white jacket speaks up.

"It's your fault Master Erigor is angry with me."

Erza speaks clearly and forcibly to Erigor, who is using his wind magic to glide around.

"What do you plan to do with Lullaby?"

"You don't know? What's here at the train station?"

"You plan to broadcast Lullaby?! Thousands of innocent people will die!"

"It's a purge. A purge of those who guard their rights and safety without knowing what it is like to lose them. Their sin is living without knowing this world properly. The Shinigami has come to punish them!"

"Doing this won't get your rights back! You lost them by breaking the law!"

"It isn't rights we want anymore. We want power! Power can shroud the past and create the future!"

The jacketed man plants a palm on the ground and a purple magic circle appears.

"Don't worry; you won't see the new Dark Age because you'll be headed to the afterlife!"

Solid shadow fists shoot out towards Lucy.

"Assassin's Bracers!"

"Fire Dragons Iron Fist!"

Lex and Natsu knock the fists away. Erigor vanishes into the higher levels of the building.

"Natsu, Gray, Lex, go after them!"

With a nod they all go running further into the station, leaving Erza and Lucy behind to handle the small fry.


	15. Lex Vs Koi

Lex takes a few steps before sinking into her shadow and using it to travel through the halls and up flights of stairs. She's going across the ceiling when it suddenly breaks, throwing her from her shadow. She lands on her feet and spins around to face her opponent.

He's a tall, broad shouldered man with black hair piled high on his head in some sort of weird bun. His beady little eyes glare into hers, but his most notable feature is the cat-like whiskers springing from his cheeks. He straightens his pinkish colored coat and pops the collar higher.

"Looks like I've found a fly!"

He holds his hands out and purple magic circle springs from both of his palms.

"Puppet: Form Beast!"

The shadows from the dark corners of the hall spring outward in the form of large, unsightly wolves. They circle Lex hungrily as she takes stock of her situation.

"Where is Erigor?!"

"Long gone little fly!"

"What do you mean?"

He laughs cockily and the wolves snarl at her.

"Stupid legal guild! Did you guys really believe we were after this station?!"

"What?!"

The wolves lunge at her and she dodges them, leaping away from their snapping jaws.

"Black Cat!"

A wolf jumps at her and she slices through it easily only for it to recollect behind her.

"Of course it isn't that easy…"

The second goes for her and she kicks it away as the first one crashes into her and sends her sprawling across the floor. It leaps onto her, jaws going for her throat.

She stops its mouth with her claws, holding it's maw as it continues to thrash above her. She's forced to kick at the second one to keep it away. The man has an arrogant, prideful tone when he speaks.

"Hah! Die, stupid fly! You won't be able to stop us anyway, just give up! Tell you what; I'll give you the honor of knowing the name of the man who is going to kill you: Koi, apprentice of Kage!"

With a battle cry she throws the first wolf off and runs at the one at her feet. It's between her and Koi, so she slices through it and uses the momentary break in the shadow to leap through. He's forced to dodge, making the wolves vanish. Her claws swish through the air inches from his face as he clambers out of striking range.

"Shadow Puppet can only be used when the caster stays stationary. It's impractical to use it on someone who understands it."

"Don't get uppity with me! I learned from the best!"

A small smile tugs at the corners of Lex's lips as she stands and stares at him.

"He must be a terrible teacher."

Koi's shadow, which Lex had summoned while he was distracted, sucker punches him in the back of the head. She releases the puppet and dives forward to deliver the finishing blow.

She grabs the beaten man by his collar and drags him up to eye level.

"You have ten seconds to tell me what's going on before I send you through that wall."

"The station was just a trap for you flies! There's a wind wall around it now to keep you stupid legal idiots inside! Master Erigor is on his way to Clover to wipe out those annoying legal guild masters!"

Lex feels immense rage bubble up inside her as she throws the man into the wall. He careens to the floor below with a thump among the other defeated members of the guild. Lex spots Gray heading down the stairs below and hurries after him.

When she reaches the front of the station she finds Erza and Gray standing before a massive tornado keeping them inside. They already know what's going on as well.

"Isn't there a weak point?"

"You'd be mincemeat if you tried to force your way out."

Based on the condition of Erza's arm, Lex can assume exactly what she'd end up as if she tried running at it. The woman in question looks at her expectantly.

"Can you go under it in your shadow?"

"I have to try."

Lex melds into her shadow and it goes hurtling towards the base of the wind wall. She only makes it under an inch or so before she's abruptly thrown from her shadow and sent tumbling across the ground. Gray barely manages to stop her before she can go crashing into the steps.

She coughs hard, her body covered head to toe in varying depths of cuts. He flips her onto her back and inspects her wounds.

"What happened?!"

"Another…rule…"

She sits up slowly holding her head in her hand.

"Shadow Walk can be disturbed by powerful magical forces or even something as simple as the surface it's on being broken apart."

"Why did you try it if you knew it wouldn't work?!"

"I had to try something!"

"You're surprisingly reckless, you know…"

He helps her to her feet slowly. Besides the various cuts and bruises, she didn't actually hit the wall directly. Erza rushes over to Koi and snatches him up by the front of his jacket.

"How do I get out of the wind wall?"

"I don't know, it's impossible!"

"Wait…isn't there a mage named Kage? He managed to get past Lullaby's seal, so he must be a dispeller mage…"

She stands up quickly and turns to Lex.

"Is there any way you can hunt down Kage?"

"The only way you can catch a shadow mage is by-"

Resounding crashes and small amounts of rubble punctuate the fire spewing from holes in the upper levels of the station.

"-finding them first. Sounds like Natsu is one step ahead of us."

Erza begins to run up the stairs and Gray hesitates before following.

"Will you be alright down here by yourself?"

"Yeah, I'm going to try and look for a weak point."

The two leave Lex down at the base of the station. She inspects various parts of the wall to no avail.

The sounds of battle from above eventually stop. Laughter from where the defeated Eisenwald members are tied up calls her attention. It's coming from Koi, who has a maniacal look on his face.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Hah! It's too late, Kage can't help you!"

"What do you mean?"

"I sent Karacka to kill him!"

Lex feels the color drain from her face.

"He can't help you now!"

"…Why?!"

"What?"

Her hands are balled into tight fists and it's taking all of her willpower not to lay into him again.

"You said you were his apprentice! Why would you send someone to kill a person you had so much pride in?!"

"So you damn legal flies won't succeed! We'll do anything to win! Who-"

She silences him with a swift kick to the side of the head, knocking him out. Erza comes sprinting down the stairs shortly after with Kage on her back and everyone else in tow. He's covered in thick bandages and there is a deep red blood stain on his abdomen.

Natsu, of course, goes at the wall full-force and only has massive cuts and bruises to show for it. Gray crosses his arms and returns to Lex's side.

"Force isn't going to get us anywhere. Any ideas?"

"I…I have nothing…I can't find any weak points and we don't have the luxury of just breaking the stupid thing apart on our own. It'd take way too much time."

Lucy has to forcibly pull Natsu back to keep him from destroying his body attacking the wall. The situation seems hopeless as Happy approaches Lucy.

"Lucy! I remembered what I needed to tell you! This!"

He holds up a gold spirit key.

"Virgo's key?! You can't steal people's keys!"

"But Virgo herself asked me to give it to you!"

After some debate as to if keeping the key is okay, Lucy finally summons Virgo. It's the first time Lex has actually seen a spirit being summoned so she's pretty impressed. The purple haired maid quickly burrows a hole in the ground and they escape outside. Happy takes Natsu after Erigor from the air.

Erza starts to grab the SE plug when Lex stops her.

"Let me."

"But-"

"No buts! If we end up in a huge battle they'll need you, let me handle this."

Erza concedes and hops in with Gray, Lucy, and surprisingly, Kage. Lex kicks the car into high gear and speeds down the train tracks towards Clover.


	16. Destruction and Starvation

Lex brings the car to a skidding halt just before the destroyed part of the tracks. Natsu is standing there looking as triumphant as ever in the wake of his destruction.

"Oi! You guys are late, it's already over!"

"Aye!"

Everyone hops out of the car and takes a deep breath of fresh air. Lex can't help laughing.

"It's over! What an experience!"

Gray looks Natsu over. His vest is gone, but his scarf is still in place like always.

"You're going to attract a lot of weirdoes with that bare-chested muffler look."

"Says you! You're naked again! Lucy! Give me your clothes!"

"WHY ME?!"

Lex chuckles and looks at the flute at her feet. A shiver runs down her spine as she locks eyes with it. It's almost like it's…calling to her…

She takes a step back and swallows the bile rising in her throat. It's eerie presence made her feel nauseous.

Kage rushes past in the magic car and grabs the flute, speeding off towards Clover.

"That bastard!"

"What the heck?! We saved him!"

"It's the flute! It's…It's like its sentient or something!"

She summons a massive shadow below herself.

"Happy, take Natsu! We've got to catch him!"

With that she sucks Erza, Lucy, Gray, and herself into her shadow and hurries after Natsu. It's a long trek and when they finally reach the end of the line everyone goes tumbling from Lex's shadow as she flops limply onto the ground.

"Lex! What's wrong?!"

"Too much magic…It's hard to transport more than one person such a distance…"

"Can you stand?"

Lucy helps Lex to her feet and lets her lean heavily on her as they rush after the others. When they get there they discover Makarov already has the situation under control.

At least, until Lullaby reveals its true form and goes on a rampage. The massive wooden monster topples an entire mountain before Gray, Natsu, and Erza are fully on the attack. Lex continues to lean on Lucy as the fight rages on.

"Those three really are monsters, aren't they?"

"You should have seen Natsu destroy the port…"

"Still using up too much magic, I see. Really, Alexis, you must learn to concentrate and conserve!"

Lex jumps slightly and turns to face the short, old gray-haired woman talking to her. She has her red cape pulled tightly around her.

"Master Babasaama!"

"Who?"

Lex gestures between Lucy and the elderly woman.

"Lucy, this is the guild master of Lamia Scale. Master Babasaama, this is one of Fairy Tail's newest mages."

The ladies flinch as another massive blow rocks the landscape. Babasaama is completely unfazed.

"Makarov told me about what happened with that sister of yours. I told you to ditch her while you could."

"Yes, you've told me many things."

"You haven't improved at all these last three years! What, was that woman keeping you under a rock?!"

"H-Hey, I've improved!"

"You say that, but you still can't Shadow Walk easily with more than one person, hmm?"

Lex feels her eyebrow twitch.

"You should come back to Lamia Scale! You'd be at much higher level if you were still in my guild!"

Makarov flips around and points at her.

"Hey! Quit trying to steal my mages!"

"She was mine in the first place!"

Lex looks between them and the battle of life and death going on several yards away that they are completely ignoring.

"I know some crazy people…"

"IT'S GOING TO PLAY IT!"

Everyone turns back to the battle as Lullaby tries to play, only to find that Natsu and the others had put too many holes in him to be able to. One more massive attack is all it takes to bring down Lullaby for good. The monster turns back into a small flute, dropping harmlessly to the ground and cracking on impact.

The cheering dies abruptly as everyone realizes that Clover station is pretty much gone.

"CATCH THEM!"

"YOU GUYS OVERDID IT!"

"DAMMIT FAIRY TAIL!"

Erza grabs Makarov, who looks as pale as a ghost after seeing the destruction of Clover, and they all begin running away as fast as possible. They are chased all the way to the canyons below the rails before the mob finally gives up and turns back.

Everyone attempts to catch their breath for a moment. Lex sweeps back her wavy black hair with a sigh.

"Looks like we're walking."

Natsu runs over to her.

"Use that shadow thingy again! It's faster!"

"I can't carry all of you!"

"Why not?!"

"Why can't Happy carry all of us then?! Same concept!"

Happy looks at Lex with a smile.

"It's because you're all too fat."

"That's…not quite it but it'll suffice, I guess."

"Just follow me! I'll get us back."

They begin following Happy deeper into the canyon. Hours pass by painfully slowly, but they never reach the next station or anywhere else for that matter. Everyone is getting pretty hungry as night turns to day and still they remain lost.

Natsu leans back with a pitiful look on his face. Gray looks just as uncomfortable.

"I'm starving…"

"Quit reminding me, it's making me hungrier."

They continue walking, everyone complaining about their empty stomachs. The only person who isn't actively complaining is Lex. Eventually they encounter a school of flying fish and attempt to fish for them.

Gray turns to Lex, who is staring off into the distance blankly.

"Lex? Hey, Lex."

"Hmm?"

"You're spacing out."

"Sorry…"

Her brow furrows as she looks down the cliff facing towards the fish. Her stomach burns like an empty hole inside her, but it doesn't really bother her.

Not after what happened.

_Lex is running from someone. She can't be any older than twelve, ducking through bushes and between trees as fast as her small physique can take her._

_She's caught by two men. Their dark guild marks are displayed proudly on their shoulders as one of them wraps his large hand around her throat and picks her up._

"_Sorry kiddo, but I can't let you live after what you've seen."_

_He throws her down a steep cliff facing. She hits the ground and lays there in immense, unrelenting pain. The broken bones in her left leg push agonizingly into the muscle and create abnormal bulges in her skin. Unable to walk she stays there, crying, until she begins to wither away from lack of sustenance._

"_Wake up…Hey, wake up…please…"_

_Lex's eyes barely open as someone calls out to her. There's a boy with dark blonde hair holding a canteen to her lips. She drinks from it greedily, the water pushing out her sunken cheeks as she gulps it. Her lips are so dry they crack and bleed as she attempts to keep the water in her mouth._

"_I brought you to a cave. Hold on, I'll get us something to eat. I promise."_

_Lex, nothing more than skin and bone after a week in the elements, looks up at him. Her voice is a dry, gravelly whisper._

"_Who…?"_

"_I'm Hibiki. Rest, okay? I'll take care of you."_

Lex snaps back to reality as Happy yells out about something being gross. Apparently the taste of flying fish wasn't quite what he was expecting. They continue onward until they reach a town void of people, yet full of food. Lex wanders out with Gray, Lucy, and Natsu to find mushrooms under Erza's command while she investigates with the master.

Before she can say anything the guys have eaten a ton of them.

"…You do know those are mushrooms that grow from magically contaminated land, right?"

They turn around and she screams when she sees the mushrooms growing out of their heads.

"WHAT THE HECK?!"

Of course, instead of being freaked out by the fungi growing from them they get in fight after laughing at each other. They do eventually fall off right as a huge magic force ripples in the air.

They rush back into town and find a massive magic circle has overtaken the area and monsters are everywhere. Makarov frowns.

"Those seams we found were part of a magic circle for the forbidden spell Alive. It's a magic that turns inanimate objects into living creatures."

"This is a dark guild's village. I found weapons with their symbol on them in a shed in town."

They end up fighting and attempting to eat the monsters. They taste horrible and soon after Makarov dispels the spell. With the magic gone they discover the monsters were the people themselves after being under the force of Take Over. The villagers give them a compass to navigate the canyon with and agree to stop dealing in illegal magic in return for their secret being kept.

It only takes them a few hours to locate a town after that and discover they'd been walking in the same stretch of canyon for as long as they were missing. One huge meal and train ride later they are back home in Magnolia.


	17. Galuna Island

"Lucy? Who are you yelling at?"

Lex carefully removes herself from the hot bathwater and begins wrapping her hair in a towel.

"Lucy? That sounds like Natsu, could you tell him to go in the living room while I get dressed?"

No reply. She pulls a second towel around her body and opens the door, peaking out of the bathroom and into the bedroom.

"Hey, where are you guys? Lucy? Natsu?"

She looks around and finds no trace of them. With a shrug she dresses and goes to bed.

That morning she's awakened by a voice at her bedside.

"Hey, get up. We're supposed to go train today."

Lex jumps and sits up in bed. Her hair is a tangled mess around her face and she can barely see Gray through it.

"You're naked again."

"All you're wearing is a long shirt, so we're even."

"THAT'S WHY YOU DON'T BARGE IN ON A SLEEPING WOMAN!"

She kicks Gray out and begrudgingly gets dressed. Ever since they'd returned Gray has been dragging her out to morning training sessions. She appreciates the training, but she doesn't appreciate the wake-up calls. Usually she's at least out of bed before he shows up, though.

She holds the long blue shirt in her hands a moment before tossing it in the hamper.

"Maybe I should ditch nightshirts…one of these days Gray is going to see me in my underwear…"

She turns towards the door and raises her voice so he can hear.

"Since some people don't know how to knock!"

"I wasn't the one that overslept! Hurry up!"

Lex dresses quickly and heads into the living room. She pulls some bread and jam from the cabinet in the kitchenette and starts making toast. Gray waits for her to eat before they head to the woods outside of town.

"So what are we doing today?"

"Magic endurance training."

"As always."

She remembers back to the day after they had returned from Clover.

"_Come on, we're going to start training together."_

"_Huh? Why?"_

"_We're a team. We need to flush out our abilities together so we get used to fighting together."_

"_This isn't just because I'm a lower skill level than you, is it?"_

"_Mostly."_

"_S-So blunt…"_

Gray stands beside Lex as she starts pulling them into her shadow.

"Today you're going all the way to the chestnut grove and back."

"That's way farther than yesterday…"

"Don't think you can do it?"

"No, I know I can do it. I'm just trying to estimate how much further it is."

"Don't overthink it, just go."

She makes it to the grove and back in record time, the two pulling themselves out of the shadow. Lex takes a deep breath and grins at him.

"You're getting better; you didn't get out of breath this time."

"Yeah, but that's just transporting two people. The real test will be doing that with more."

"A lot of your improvement will come from battle. You don't know what you're capable of until you're fighting for your life."

She makes the run a few more times and they head back to the guild hall. They order lunch and sit with Bisca and Alzack.

"MASTER!"

Mirajane comes running down the stairs looking like she's seen a ghost.

"One of the requests from the second floor has gone missing!"

Makarov spits out his drink and turns around in alarm.

"WHAT?!"

The guild breaks out into murmurs.

"A missing request?"

"If it was on the second floor, then it's S-Class."

"Who would be stupid enough to take it?"

"A cat."

Everyone looks up at Laxus. He's reclined up on the second floor looking incredibly smug. Lex dislikes him instantly. She can't put her finger on it, but he makes her extremely uncomfortable.

"A saw a cat with wings take it."

"Happy?!"

"This is a clear violation of the rules. Old man! You'll expel them when they return, right? Given their level I doubt they'll return alive, though."

"Why didn't you stop them?!"

"All I saw was a thieving cat with a piece of paper. Besides, there is no mage here that can't hold their own. Right, old man?"

Makarov slams his glass on the table. He looks up at Mirajane.

"Which one is missing?"

"The cursed island, Galuna."

Judging by the collective gasps, the island was bad news. Makarov points to Laxus.

"Go bring them back!"

"Can't, got a job waiting for me."

"Who else here, except you, can bring Natsu back by force?!"

Gray and Lex stand up together.

"I can't let that one slide. I'll bring that idiot back."

"I'm going too. I don't think Lucy really knows what she's getting into."

Makarov thinks about it for a moment before nodding slowly.

"Go, and hurry! You have to catch them before they get a boat at Hargeon!"

They rush out, forgoing their bags and heading straight for the station. Lex looks out the window with a troubled sigh.

"I hope Natsu's motion sickness can buy us some time."

"That moron…"

Gray looks at Lex closely.

"Are you okay?"

"Why?"

"You've got that same look from when we were lost in the canyon."

"Sorry, I just keep thinking about something that happened a long time ago."

"Do you want to tell me about it?"

"I can. It really isn't anything more than a bad memory."

She reaches down and touches her left leg.

"When I was twelve, I took a job asking me to find something called the Crystal Lilly. I was C-Class and it was labeled C-Class, so I took it. It was mislabeled…Crystal Lilly was a dark guild, meaning it was an A-Class spy job. I was caught and thrown down a steep hill, shattering my leg. I almost starved to death before anyone came for me."

"The people at Lamia Scale didn't go looking for you?"

"I'd been out there at least a week before Missy heard about the dark guild and realized what happened. She went to the guild but the secretary just waved her off and told her I was probably dead. She didn't know what else to do, so she went to Blue Pegasus and asked for their help. One of their mages found me. I should have died out there, but I didn't. The Masters were enraged when they found out what had happened. Master Babasaama especially."

"Your sister tried to find you?"

"I told you guys, she isn't all bad. She spent weeks complaining my leg wasn't healing fast enough, but I was too happy to be alive to care."

"I can see why you're so worried about them. Don't worry though, we'll bring them back."

"I don't worry about things like that anymore. This isn't Lamia Scale. Besides, I wasn't very strong at that age. I've come a long way since then."

"Confidence in yourself and your friends is important. Hold on to that."

They finally make it to Hargeon and head to the port. It doesn't take much questioning to find the "crazy mages trying to hitch a ride," as the sailors called them.

Gray gets a mischievous look as he hushes Lex and sneaks up behind them.

"Found you~"

The look on their faces is priceless.

"What are you doing here?!"

"I was asked to bring you back."

"HE FOUND OUT ALREADY?!"

"If you come back now you won't be expelled."

Lucy looks horrified.

"EXPELLED?!"

Lex pats her on the back pityingly.

"Let's go back before you guys get in any more trouble."

She starts to agree, but Natsu has other ideas.

"No! I'm doing an S-Class quest!"

"You're not strong enough! If Erza ever finds out-"

"I'm going to face Erza! I'm not going to go back now!"

"It's impossible! Just give up already!"

"No way!"

"It's an order! Don't make me take you by force!"

The man in the boat behind them suddenly stands up.

"Wait, are you mages?! Are you here to lift the curse on the island? Get on!"

Natsu grins evilly and kicks Gray, grabbing a rope and tying him up before he can recover. Lex starts summoning her magic when Lucy leans over towards her.

"If you try to stop us I'll tell the boys that thing you don't want anyone to know."

"You wouldn't!"

She opens her mouth to talk and Lex covers it with both hands, her face bright red. Natsu takes the distraction as an opportunity and binds her up as well, tossing her into the boat next to Gray. The boat sets out into the steadily darkening water.

"Lucy, you fight dirty!"

"It's a bit late to say now, but I'm scared."

"You're one to talk after dragging me along!"

"Sorry! One of the golden gate keys is a reward, I need it!"

"You also only need to pay half your rent, which I have paid in full more than once already."

"Don't guilt trip me!"

The helmsman turns towards them.

"My name is Bobo. I was once an inhabitant of that island, but I fled. Misfortune befalls those on the island. Can you really lift the curse?"

He pulls back his cloak, revealing his arm. It's hard and scaly with a deep purple hue.

"This curse, the demons curse? You can see it now. Galuna Island."

Lucy points to the highest part of the island.

"There's a light shining up there! What is-"

They turn and see that the man is gone.

"Where did he go?! Did he fall overboard?!"

"He disappeared while we were looking away."

"What's that noise?"

They turn and come face to face with a massive wave. They don't even have time to register what's going on before they capsize.


	18. Past Demons

Someone shakes Lex awake.

"Ugh…"

"Are you okay?"

She opens her eyes and sees Lucy kneeling beside her. Gray and Natsu are starting to pick themselves up not far away. Judging from how bright it is outside they were probably out for a while.

"What happened?"

"We washed up on shore."

She sits up and shrugs off the loosened rope. Gray throws his rope aside and sighs.

"We lucked out…"

"What was with that man anyway? He said something about a demons curse."

"Who posted the request?"

"Um…the chieftain of the village on this island."

Gray stands up slowly and walks purposefully up to Natsu.

"Not so fast."

"Now what? The boat is busted, you can't bring us back."

"No…I'm coming with you. I can't let you beat me to the second floor, and it would be no fun if you guys got kicked out. If we do this job right, Gramps can't complain."

He turns to Lex.

"You should go back if you need to."

"No, I want to stay as well."

"Really?"

"After seeing that poor man's arm…I want to help these people."

"It's decided then. Let's go!"

They trudge through the jungle until they reach a huge area enclosed in a wooden wall. The sign on the door reads "KEEP OUT". They are let in after showing their guild marks.

The villagers are all wearing long cloaks that cover their entire bodies. A hunched up figure approaches.

"I am Moka, the chief of this island village. Let's get right down to business, please have a look."

They throw off their cloaks. Every person has a body part either altered or added that look demonic. Horns, scales, and hardened limbs decorate the village people. Natsu gasps.

"CRAZY SIDEBURNS!"

"No, this! Everyone is affected by the curse. Ever since the moonlight turned violet we have been suffering from this horrible curse!"

As he talks the moon comes out from behind the clouds. Lex shivers. For some reason the whole village is making her uneasy.

"It really is purple…That's so creepy…"

The people cry out as their bodies change. They all morph into demonic looking figures.

"Sorry for the shock."

"You're so…

Everyone looks at Natsu as he speaks.

"COOL! I want horns and spikes too!"

"That's the, uh…first time we've been called cool…"

Lucy hurries over to yell at him.

"Read the situation! They don't like being like this!"

"Seriously?! My bad! We'll do something quick."

"Every night we turn into demons and turn back by morning. But some people lose their minds and never turn back…We've since made it a rule to kill those who turn into mindless monsters. I had to kill my own son…his mind became that of a demon…"

They let out a collective gasp when they see the picture. It's Bobo, but they say nothing about the mysterious appearance of him and his involvement in their arrival.

"Please save this island! It is only a matter of time before we all lose our minds…There is only one way to lift the curse. Please…destroy the moon."

Moka leads them to a hut.

"Sleep here for the night and don't stay out long in the moonlight. You may begin changing as well."

They hurry inside. A few women from the village bring them food and bedrolls to sleep on.

Lucy and Lex disappear behind the changing screen. Since Lex doesn't have a bag she ends up borrowing a pair of cloth shorts and an uncomfortably tight shirt from Lucy.

"How do you wear this…"

"It's comfy; I don't know what you're talking about."

"I feel like I'm going to suffocate."

"Well, it's either that or sleeping in the shirt you wore today."

"Last time I did that the gauzy sleeves got wrapped around my leg and I woke up like a pretzel."

"Then you wear this!"

"I'm not sure this is any better…"

Lex uncomfortably adjusts the shirt.

"Are we really going to try to destroy the moon?"

"I don't think we could if we tried…There has to be another way."

"I agree. Something is happening on this island. We should look around in the morning."

Eventually they return to find Natsu and Gray already laying on the bedrolls as far away from each other as possible. Lucy and Lex flop into the center and attempt to sleep through the cacophony of snoring.

Lex awakes the next morning before the others. She tries to sit up, but Gray's legs are across her abdomen and she can't move. She slaps his calf to jolt him awake.

"Can you get off of me?"

"I don't know; can you wear a shirt big enough for your boobs?"

The sounds of Lex beating Gray with a pillow wake up the other two. After eating they set out looking for an alternative to destroying the moon. Natsu is pouting.

"We really aren't going to destroy the moon?"

"No, we should find a different way. Besides, with no moon there would be no moon-viewing."

"I NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT! Then there would be no limited-time-only Fairy Tail moon viewing steaks!"

Lex facepalms.

"You guys seriously couldn't think of any other reasons as to why we shouldn't destroy the moon besides that?"

Suddenly the ground begins shaking. They turn around and see a massive white rat wearing baby clothes towering above the jungle.

"WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!"

The rat exhales on them. The smell is so bad is actually manages to knock Natsu out, since his sense of smell is on the level of a dragon's. Gray quickly makes an ice floor to trip it up while they hurry away. Lucy points ahead of them.

"Look! There's some sort of building!"

They hurry inside and away from the massive rat. The old, crumbling building has depictions of the moon on its walls.

"Man, this place is old…Is it even safe?"

Natsu stomps his foot on the ground, effectively breaking through it and sending everyone toppling down a pit. Lex holds her hands out.

"Shadow Walk!"

Instead of hitting the ground they all fall into a shadow. A second or two later they come out of the shadow the same speed they entered going upwards, but gravity slows them and they fall back to the ground going much slower than they would have otherwise. Lex climbs out of the shadow after they land.

"Sorry, I can't decrease your speed when you enter, but I can redirect it."

Natsu rolls over angrily.

"How come you didn't come flying out like we did?!"

"I can control what happens to me, just not what happens to you. I can move freely in my shadow, but others can't."

He huffs and she looks around. Gray is standing not far away in the cavern and shaking like a leaf.

"Gray? What's…oh my God…"

In the center of the pit is an enormous demon frozen in ice. An uneasy feeling falls over everyone when they see it.

"Deliora?! How can that be, it's impossible! He can't be here!"

"You know this thing?"

"It's…It's…"

Gray is trembling so much that Lucy and Lex try to calm him down. His arms are covered in goose bumps.

"Gray, what is this thing?"

"Deliora, the demon of destruction…He looks exactly the same as back then, what's going on?!"

Footsteps entering the cave startle them. They rush behind a rock formation to hide as two men enter. Lex covers her mouth to stifle a gasp.

"Have you been soaking in the Moon Drip? You have ears and stuff."

"I TOLD YOU THESE WERE DECORATIONS!"

"I was just making fun of you, idiot."

Lucy whispers about the possibility of Moon Drip being the curse when a woman and man enter and join the other two.

"I have sad news. Someone beat up Angelica."

"It's just a rat! Don't give it such a fancy name!"

"She is not a rat! Angelica is a hunter that races through the darkness. And…love…"

"Don't worry about Angelica. I'm sure Reitei-sama wouldn't mind letting you take time off to tend to her."

"Thank you. You are always so uplifting. Now that they have seen Deliora they cannot be allowed to live. We will give the intruders eternal sleep. In other words, love."

"You mean death."

Natsu leans in close so he can whisper without being heard by them.

"They aren't from here, they smell different. They aren't cursed either."

"They aren't. I know them, I...I can't believe they have something to do with this. The short, blue haired mage is Yuka the Wave. The one with dog ears looks like Toby, and knowing him he isn't very bright. The pink haired girl is Sherry; she has a weird obsession with love and adores animals. The man with brown hair that's shaved short on one side is Percy. I don't know who Reitei is, though…"

"You know them?"

"They're mages from Lamia Scale…"

Happy floats down the corridor and drops a rock, luring the Lamia Scale mages out. They all come out of hiding when it's safe. Gray's hands curl up into fists.

"How did they find out where he was sealed…This thing was on an iceberg in the northern continent. It's an immortal demon that ravaged the Ishvan region ten years ago. Master Ur, who taught me magic, risked her life to seal it away! I don't know what it has to do with the islands curse, but it doesn't belong here!"

Grays hands begin to ice over as his fist tightens.

"Reitei…whoever you are…you'll pay if you tarnish Ur's name!"


	19. A Moment

"This is the demon your master sealed away?"

"Yeah, no doubt about it."

"Is it causing the curse?"

"It's possible…it is still alive and all…"

"Then I'll give it a beat-down of my own!"

Gray turns and punches Natsu with enough force to knock him off of his feet. Lex and Lucy flinch away from him when he looks up, his eyes filled with terrified anger.

"Hey, what the hell was that for?!"

"Stay away from this ice, fire mage. If he gets out then no one can stop him…"

"Do you really think it would be that easy to melt?"

"…No…the ice is unmeltable…My master cast a spell called Iced Shell on the demon, it can't melt."

"That punch was for nothing then! Man, you are violent…"

Lex approaches Gray slowly and touches his arm.

"I think we should all take a deep breath and think. Why would they bring that demon here? What would they want with a demon incased in ice that can't melt?"

"Maybe they don't know and they're trying to melt it somehow."

Natsu gets up and gestures towards the corridor.

"Let's follow them."

"No. We stay here until nightfall. Then we can investigate how Deliora is connected to the curse."

"NO WAY! I'D DIE OF BOREDOM, I'D-"

Natsu flops on the ground, fast asleep. Lucy sighs and turns to Happy.

"He acts purely on instinct, doesn't he?"

"Aye, that's just how Natsu is."

Lucy and Lex drag him behind the rock formation and find a place to sit. Gray is sitting farther away on a rock, seemingly deep in thought.

Hours tick by slowly. Lucy lets out a bored groan before having an epiphany.

"I know! I'll summon Lyra!"

"Who?"

Lucy summons a cute orange-blonde carrying a harp. She squeals and hugs Lucy.

"What should I sing for you today?"

"Anything, you decide."

She turns to Lex.

"Lyra is a great singer!"

"So is Mira, she sings me fish songs."

Lucy pushes Happy away without even bothering to look at him. Lex laughs and sits down to listen.

The song is slow and gentle, a flowing melody about memories and becoming stronger in this life. A sniff draws their eyes to Gray. His shoulders are shaking slightly.

"Gray?"

"Yeah, what?"

He can't hide the slight tremble in his voice.

"You were crying…Lyra is good at singing about what people are feeling but…"

"I was not. Now that I think about it, be quiet before someone shows up and hears us."

Silence falls on everyone again. Lex gets up and goes to sit beside Gray.

"Hey."

"What do you want?"

"I can't sit beside my friend?"

"Lucy is back there."

"I meant you, dummy."

"I don't need your pity, alright? You have no idea what it's like to lose someone like this, to lose your entire family and your master at the hands of a demon. Just go away, I don't want to see you right now."

Gray knows he's being unapproachable, but he just doesn't want to hear all the words that come with loss.

"You're right. I don't know what it's like to lose someone I love like that."

He cautions a look at Lex. Her usual happy smirk is gone, replaced by a serious, almost forlorn look. She quickly covers it with a fake smile, but he already saw. He looks away quickly.

"Sorry."

"Its fine, you're upset."

"Why did you look like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like you're remembering something terrible again."

"This isn't really the time for me to vent my own frustrations. I came over here planning to cheer you up, which I'm doing a terrible job of."

"Maybe I want to hear about it anyway."

She sighs. He looks at her again and his eyes meet hers for the first time since she came over to join him.

"You really want me to tell you?"

"Why not? It'll give me something else to think about."

"Okay then…"

She takes a deep breath and starts her story.

"I was born on a farm outside the city of Giacinta. My father passed away not long after I was born, so I don't remember anything about him. Missy didn't like to talk about him either. She said it upset her too much. My mother couldn't support two kids and the farm alone, so she sold it and took us into the city when I was four and Missy was ten…

"_Momma, where are we going?"_

"_We're going to catch a train, sweetie. Now, hold Marisa's hand so you don't get lost in the crowd."_

"_I don't want to hold Missy's hand; I want to hold Momma's hand…"_

"_You're just going to have to settle for Marisa. I'm carrying the bags."_

"_I'm carrying my bag too but I can still-"_

"_Alexis for the love of God shut up!"_

"_Okay…"_

"…_I didn't mean to yell…I'm sorry…Please stop crying…"_

"_I made Momma mad…"_

"_No you didn't sweetheart. Here, Marisa, take the trunk and roll it behind you. Good, just like that. Give me your hand, Alexis."_

"_Yay! I love you, Momma!"_

"_I…why don't you girls wait here on this bench while I go get the tickets?"_

"_Why are you taking your suitcase with you? We can watch it…"_

"_It has Momma's very important papers in it, so she has to guard it."_

"_Okay! Momma will take care of everything, won't you Momma?"_

"_Marisa, take care of your sister for me. Alexis, just…be brave."_

…It was hours before anyone came to tell us our mother had boarded a train alone. The local police kept us for nearly a week while they searched, but they couldn't find her and she never came back. After that they stuck us in a rundown orphanage, so Missy and I ran away. She started working at a café in exchange for a room until she got older and found a better job. I never found out what happened to my mother, and frankly I hope I never do."

Gray looks at his hands quietly. He hadn't been expecting that…

"There is one thing I do know, though."

He looks at her when she speaks. She's smiling softly.

"You wouldn't have cried if Ur wasn't important to you. I want to protect her sacrifice. We'll find out what's going on and put a stop to it, so don't worry."

"…Thanks…"

She grins at him and he can't help returning a smile. They fall into idle conversation, waiting for night to fall.


	20. In Over Our Heads

At some point everyone must have fallen asleep. A rumbling sound awakens Gray and he picks his head up out of his palm. As his head turns his cheek brushes against Lex's hair and he realizes her head lulled onto his shoulder when she fell asleep.

As the rumbling increases it startles everyone out of there sleep induced stupors. A purple magic circle has formed at the top of the cave and the violet moonlight is shining through it and onto Deliora.

"This is no coincidence!"

"Let's go, the source is around here somewhere!"

They rush through corridors and up flights of stairs quickly. In the center of every floor is a pair of magic circles funneling the moonlight downwards. When they finally reach the top they duck behind a stray stone.

A circle of cultists are chanting, pulling the moonlight down through a series of magic circles in the sky. A voice from behind them startles then.

"That's Moon Drip, it's a Belianese spell."

Lucy spins around and sees Lyra beside her.

"You're still here?"

"So that's what's going on…"

"What?"

"These guys are trying to use Moon Drip to revive that underground demon."

Gray turns, his eyes full of that alarmed anger again.

"That's impossible! Iced Shell is unmeltable!"

"Moon Drip will melt it. Focused lunar energy can break any spell."

"They have no idea how horrific Deliora is if they want to free him!"

"I believe Moon Drip is also the cause of the phenomenon the villagers believe is a curse. That kind of magic can contaminate the body too."

"Someone is coming."

A man in a suit of armor walks around from behind the chanting circle. Lex squints her eyes at him as he approaches.

"Do you recognize him?"

"No…I've never seen him before in my life."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'd remember a suit of armor like that."

The Lamia Scale mages come around the corner behind him. Yuka speaks first.

"I'm tired since we woke up during the day. We didn't even find the intruders."

"It's sad, Reitei-sama…It appeared there were intruders during the day but they got away. I am unfit to speak of love."

The armored man speaks. Lex doesn't have a reaction, but Gray does.

"Intruders? Is Deliora's revival still incomplete?"

"From the look of it, it will be today or tomorrow."

"At long last…As for the intruders, we cannot afford to be interfered with. Go and eradicate that village. I'm not fond of blood, but it can't be helped."

Lucy clenches onto the stone they are behind, her voice trembling with rage.

"The villagers had nothing to do with this!"

"That voice…it can't be…"

Natsu leaps onto the stone they are all behind.

"ALRIGHT! No more sneaking around, here are your intruders!"

He spits fire into the air. If there was any doubt he'd been spotted before, it was wiped away as every set of eyes locked onto them. The armored man turns to his subordinates.

"Don't stare, go destroy the village."

"Why? We're right here!"

"The villagers called you, didn't they? Those who stand in my way and concoct schemes are the enemy."

Gray rushes past them, running at the man.

"Stop this ritual!"

They both create light blue magic circles, both using ice that collides and explodes into a flurry of crystals.

"Lyon! Do you even realize what you're doing?! What is the meaning of this?!"

"To think you'd be one of the mages the villagers called here…Did you come here knowingly? Or is this coincidence? Not that it makes any difference."

Natsu rushes forward and an ice ball forms around his body. Gray points towards the village.

"Happy, take Lucy and go! You too Lex, get to the village!"

She doesn't have to be told twice. In seconds she is in her shadow and racing down the side of the ruins.

When Lex gets to the jungle she climbs out of her shadow, looking back up at the temple. She silently wishes her friends luck and starts running back towards the village. At some point she hears yelling from behind her.

"What is tha-"

She turns around just in time to see Natsu rolling towards her. Her eyes widen as she ducks into her shadow to avoid being bowled over.

When she climbs back out she sees him several feet away stuck upside down. Only his head, arms, and legs are sticking out of the giant ball of ice. She grabs a kicking leg and rolls him back onto his feet.

"Gray! You jerk! I'll get you for this!"

"What happened?"

"He kicked me down the ruin, that's what happened! I'm gonna kick his-"

"Natsu, I think he saved your life."

"Huh? How?"

Lex inspects the ice closely.

"This ice is different from Gray's. Lyon has the ability to actively manipulate it. It's called dynamic magic."

"How do you even know that?"

"Because some of the magic I use is dynamic magic. I bet he could have blown you up if he wanted to."

"Seriously?!"

Lex nods. Natsu looks back up at the temple.

"Well, he's still a bastard for not letting beat up that other ice guy!"

"I just told you why he didn't!"

He places a flaming hand on the ice.

"What the heck? Why can't I melt it?!"

"Black Cat."

Lex slices at the ice, but her claws barely leave a mark.

"Maybe it'll go away if you get far enough away from Lyon."

"I have a bad feeling."

"What kind of bad feeling?"

"I'm not sure…I'm going back."

"You can't! If you get back into Lyon's magical radius he might kill you! The village is in danger too, Gray can handle one mage."

Natsu continues to stare up at the temple. He's making her feel uneasy.

"Natsu, if I go back up to the temple, will you head on to the village? Lucy will need help if those mages show up."

He looks like he's about to object, but he agrees and hurries away towards the village. Lex sinks into her shadow and heads back towards the ruins.

No one is there anymore. The ceremony seems to be over and the ruins are empty. She searches further for any signs of Gray.

What she sees when she arrives strikes her to her core.

"Gray!"

He's lying on the ground unmoving. Only one eye is open and staring vacantly into the distance. Lex rushes to his side.

"Gray! Get up Gray! Gray?!"

He blinks, his open eye focusing on her finally.

"Oh thank God…"

"Lex…What are you doing here…?"

"Natsu said he had a bad feeling so I came back…"

"I see…"

He manages to get up on his knees. His body shakes uncertainly as he tries to move, so Lex crouches and grabs his arms to steady him.

"I'm fine, I can walk. Where is Lyon?"

"I don't know…he and the cultists are gone. The ceremony is over; the sun will be coming up soon."

He pitches forward and Lex catches him. Her arms are under his in an attempt to pull him up, his forehead resting in the crook of her neck. She stops when she feels his tears on her skin.

"I was in no place to criticize anyone…no place at all…"

"What?"

"Telling Natsu this was impossible…that was what Ur told me when I went after Deliora…"

She pulls him back enough to look him in the eye.

"You won't be able to beat Lyon like that!"

"Huh?"

"Feeling sorry for yourself like that. You can't dwell on the past like this if you want to stop him."

"He's already beaten me…"

"Oh please, you're a mage from Fairy Tail, the guild that always goes overboard because they don't know when to stop! Ur didn't train a quitter!"

"But because of me she-"

"You can't keep thinking about a mistake you made as a child! What's important right now is protecting her gift! Do you really want _Natsu_ to be the one to beat down your childhood rival and save the day?"

"Of course not!"

"Then stop wallowing in your own misery and let's go save a village!"

"I…I can't walk…"

"Then I'll carry you, idiot. Now let's get your face cleaned up before Natsu sees you."

She brings her hand up to his cheek and gently swipes her thumb below his eyes. It's a surprisingly tender gesture.

"There. Now let's get back to the village."

Lex pulls him up onto her back. He's a little taller than her, so his head and one arm hang low over her shoulder. She can feel his blood marking her skin as she starts running to find a flat enough piece of ground.

"Hang on Gray. Just a bit longer, we'll put a stop to this."

"Lex…"

He says her name, but when she looks at him she realizes he's already blacked out. Lex swallows hard and starts pulling the two of them into her shadow.

"We'll make them pay. They won't get away with this."


	21. Lex Vs Percy

Lex makes it back to the village and thankfully, nothing has happened. She surfaces from her shadow and turns to Lucy.

"Where is Natsu?"

"Er, he fell in my pitfall…"

Lex looks over and sees Natsu, thankfully without his ice garb, climbing out. He sees Lex and his expression changes from anger to a frown.

She pulls herself out to her shoulders, bringing Gray up with her. He's still unconscious.

"He was beaten?!"

"Just help me get him out, will you? He needs a doctor."

Natsu grabs Gray by the collar and hauls him out easily. Lex hops out after him and the villagers move Gray for them.

"They aren't here yet?"

"No, not yet…they're taking a long time, they left before we did…"

A steady humming noise draws their attention to the sky. The giant rat is flying by spinning its tail and it's carrying a massive bucket. Lucy's lamentations about her pitfall being useless fall on deaf ears.

A single drop drips from the bucket. It falls, seconds away from hitting Lucy, when Natsu tackles her out of the way. The drop burns a hole in the ground where Lucy had been standing previously.

"What is that dangerous smell?!"

The villagers panic as the rat dumps the entire bucket, the gel's area quickly expanding to cover the entire village.

"Everyone, to the center of the village!"

Lex pulls Gray back up onto her back and hurries to the village center with everyone else. Happy flies Natsu up into the air and he uses a huge fireball to scatter the jelly. It burns a massive donut shaped hole around them, completely dissolving the village buildings and wall.

The Lamia Scale mages land and approach the group slowly, kicking over Bobo's grave as they go.

Sherry sweeps her hair back over her shoulder.

"We tried showing mercy by giving you a quick death…but it seems there is going to be bloodshed after all."

"Approximately fifty villagers. Four mages. One looks about dead. About…fifteen minutes I'd say."

Lex steps forward, her voice dripping with venomous rage.

"What are you doing?! Killing people goes against the code of a Lamia Scale mage!"

The four of them turn and look at her.

"And who are you?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Sherry!"

Yuka laughs.

"Ah, yes, you were the weak little shadow mage under your sister's thumb. How is Miss Missy, by the way?"

"Quit being so casual with me! Why are you doing this?!"

"That is none of your concern."

Gray picks his head up off of Lex's shoulder.

"Put…me down…"

She sets him down carefully. He wobbles on his feels slightly.

"I can still fight."

"Get out of here. You'll only get in the way."

"Natsu, don't mock me…"

He punches Gray in the stomach, doubling him over.

"Just lie down again, you're hurt."

"I'll…kill…"

He passes out again, slumping against Natsu. He places Gray on Lex's back.

"Get Gray and the villagers out of here."

Lex nods and turns to the people. As much as she wants to stay and help put the four of them in their place, she knows getting the villagers and Gray to safety is more important.

"Okay everyone! Let's get out of here, hurry!"

The group runs away as a fight breaks out behind them. They manage to make it into the jungle before they slow down. Lex turns to one of the men closest to her.

"Where should we go?"

"There's a storage area near here, we'll go there."

Suddenly, blades of grass as big as planks of wood spring up between Lex and the villagers, surrounding her in a green, photosynthetic dome. She can hear the villagers on the other side calling to her.

"Keep going! I'll catch up soon!"

"Hello, Lex."

She lays Gray down gently beside the grass dome. Turning around her eyes lock on to her opponent.

"Percy."

He reaches up and runs his hand through the long side of his hair. The brunette locks reach his shoulder on the left side, but the right side has been shorn into a buzz cut. Long, winding tattoos of vines begin above his right ear and wind down his neck all the way around his arm to his wrist. His angular features are further accented by sharp, jade colored eyes. He sweeps a stray leaf off of his vest, the smooth green material hugging his muscled frame. The leaf flutters past the brown tasseled material tied around his waist that falls long on one side of his body across the top of his jeans and lands beside his feet, clad in green flip flops.

"What are you doing here, Percy?"

"Obviously I came to dispose of you so we can take care of the villagers."

"Why would you do this? Why are you helping Lyon thaw Deliora?"

Percy's eyes lock onto hers. The color pierces through Lex like a drill.

"That demon, he destroyed our home. Yuka, Toby, Sherry, and I all lost our families to that demon. Same thing happened to your unconscious friend over there."

"It doesn't make any sense, why free the demon that caused you so much pain?!"

"So Lyon can kill it. You are aware it is still alive in that ice, yes?"

"I am."

"Good. I don't expect you to support us. Pity…you always were a sweet girl. A little too big of a pushover, but sweet nonetheless. You're death is a shame, really."

"My death?"

"I'm going to kill you and your friend over there."

"Why, Percy? We grew up together!"

"_Can I play?"_

"_Do you even know how to play chess, Lex?"_

"_No…"_

"_Then no, go away. Oh come on, don't look at me with that sad face. I have a weakness for faces like that. Alright fine, I'll teach you. Go sit across the table."_

"We used to play games together in the guild hall, remember? You taught me how to play strategy games…We were friends…"

"Yes, I remember. That is why killing you will hurt my heart. It must be done, though."

"I don't want to fight you…"

"Don't give me that sad face…It'll make it harder to bury you later if that's the look on your face in death."

"Fine. How about this face then? Black Cat!"

Solid shadow claws cover her fingers as she rushes forward, slicing at him. A large blade of grass the width of a sword blade shoots toward her. It clicks against her claws and stops her from reaching Percy.

"My, my, what a feisty look! That's more like it!"

Grass blades, sharp as swords and as long as Percy wants them to be, continue to jut from the ground and slice through the air at her from green magic circles.

"Do you know what I remember most about you, Lex?"

She leaps back away from a blade.

"Your weaknesses! Grass Spur!"

Blades from all different directions rip into her skin as they hit her. She's only able to block one with each hand as the others cross around her, trapping her in a sharp pile of blades. Every time she moves they cut deeper into her wounds.

"Your defense is still terrible. What are you going to do with only those little shadows on your hands?"

Lex grits her teeth through the pain and sinks into her shadow, escaping the pile of blades. She resurfaces behind him and lunges for him.

With a flick of his wrist a blade shoots out, slicing deeply into Lex's side and dropping her to the ground.

"Really, Lex…I was at least expecting a fight…"

She clutches her side, blood bubbling between her fingers from the severe wound. It was a stupid, foolish injury. She should have known, should have done something else.

"I may as well put your friend out of his misery before he gets any ideas."

Percy turns and gestures towards Gray, who is still laying several feet away from Lex. Her eyes grow wide as he raises his hands and points at her friend's unconscious form.

"NO!"

With a burst of adrenaline she rushes forward, arms spread to stop the multiple grass blades heading towards Gray's form.

"How cute, you…what?"

_A lot of your improvement will come from battle. You don't know what you're capable of until you're fighting for your life._

The blades are pushing against a large, solid black orb. The front of it suddenly shatters as Lex comes leaping out of it, fist in the air. It connects solidly with Percy's face and sends him flying into his own grass wall.

Lex dives for him.

"I won't let you release that demon!"

He is just rising off the ground when Lex's fist connects with his stomach, roughly pushing his flesh in an arc into his abdominal cavity.

"You won't waste Ur's sacrifice! The suffering is over, leave it be!"

He doubles over and Lex brings her knee up, hitting him in the chin and throwing him into the wall again.

"Don't force your revenge ideals on innocent people by making them deal with the corruption of magic!"

He slides down it, out cold. The grass wall and the blades quickly shrink back into normal grass as Lex breaths evenly to calm herself down. She looks down at herself.

Her hands and her arms slightly past her elbows are completely incased in incredibly hard solid shadow.

"I did it…"

The solid shadow on her arms and the shadow orb dissipate as Lex pitches forward slightly, catching herself. She touches her side and brings her fingers back covered in blood. Dangerous amounts of the red liquid has seeped into her pants and smeared across her bare stomach.

"Crap…I've got to get us to that storage area…"

She pulls Gray up onto her back again and hurries after the villagers. Her steps falter and she's having trouble holding him up and attempting to stop the bleeding at the same time.

"My vision is blurring…"

"Lex!"

A familiar, unwelcomed voice calls out to her. She turns and sees Erza walking along dragging Lucy and Happy behind her. Both are tied up and she has the rope ends clutched tightly in her fist.

Erza grabs her sword and brings the blade to Lex's throat. Lucy gasps.

"Erza, Lex is really hurt! What are you-"

"Shut up! Who told you to speak?!"

"Eeep!"

Lex squints to focus on Erza. Her cold stare is absolutely terrifying.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"To a storage area to seek medical treatment."

"You have committed a crime, Lex. You've betrayed our master. I'm bringing you back to the guild for punishment."

"No."

Her hand tightens around the hilt. It cuts slightly into Lex's neck, drawing a single dribble of blood that starts slowly gliding down the blade.

"What was that?"

"I'm not going back. These people need our help, there's so much going on here that-"

Erza silences her by drawing back the sword and slamming the hilt into her temple.


	22. A Decisive Battle

When Lex wakes she's laying in a tent. Her hands have been pulled up to her chest and bound as tightly as they could be out of the way of her stomach. A thick bandage is wrapped around her abdomen and a smaller one is around her neck and head. She realizes quickly that her legs are bound tightly together as well.

"Lex? You awake?"

She looks up and sees Gray hovering over her. He's shirtless and covered in bandages as well.

"Hold still."

He cuts away the ropes with a knife and pulls Lex into a sitting position.

"Erza-"

"I know; I just talked to her. We're finishing this."

"Really? She didn't seem too keen on that when she clubbed me…"

"Don't worry about it. Let's just focus on ending this."

He helps her to her feet and they head out. Everyone is accounted for except Natsu.

"Lyon's goal is defeating Deliora. He believes it's the only way to surpass Ur. She vanished sealing away Deliora since she couldn't defeat him herself."

"I see…that's the only way to surpass someone who's dead."

"No. Lyon doesn't know. It's true Ur vanished without a trace, But Ur is still alive!"

"What do you mean?"

"Ten years ago, Deliora destroyed the city I lived in. Not even a full day had passed before it was obliterated. Ur and Lyon saved me. They just happened to be passing through at the time. That was how it all began. She agreed to take me in and start training me, since I had nowhere else to go."

A loud crash from the ruins interrupts him. They are suddenly tilted to one side.

"Must be Natsu."

They all agree. He'd be the only person among them that could have done it, since they hadn't found him yet. Gray crosses his arms.

"Well, whether it was on purpose or dumb luck, the moonlight can't reach Deliora now."

"His habit of destroying things is finally useful…"

Erza reacts the fastest of everyone when circular, thrown blades come flying from the bushes. She pushes Lucy and Happy out of the way as they rocket past where they had been standing. Lex can do little more than duck behind a tree before she's hit.

The cultists spring out and surround them.

"We won't let you stop Lyon!"

"We'll handle them! Gray, settle things with Lyon."

"Don't worry! We'll hold them back, go on!"

Gray nods and grabs Lex's arm.

"Come on, let's go."

Lex hesitates a moment before running after him, leaving the others behind.

"Lyon doesn't know Ur is alive. The only person who can stop him is me!"

"Why doesn't he know?"

"I went after Deliora alone. Ur and Lyon went after me, and during the fight Ur was wounded badly. Lyon panicked at the thought of losing his role model and tried to use Iced Shell on Deliora. He thought Ur hid it from us because it was powerful, but he didn't know what the spell would do to him. Iced Shell destroys the caster's body and turns your flesh to ice to seal something away in eternal ice. Ur had been planning to use it all along since Deliora can't be defeated by magic. She told me to tell Lyon she died. She wanted him to live on, not spend his life trying to reverse the spell."

Lex's breath comes in short gasps as she runs after Gray. Her injury stings horribly with every step.

"Wait, so…the ice…Deliora is in…is Ur?"

"Yes. I decided to change after that day, but Lyon…he's hated me ever since."

They round the corner to a frozen doorway.

"Lex, I need you to do me a favor."

"What is it?"

"Grab Natsu and take him somewhere else. Keep him from interfering in this fight. Can you do that for me?"

"No problem, but only if you promise to beat Lyon to a pulp and then come get the lizard from me so I'm not stuck with him."

Gray chuckles, but it's sad and odd.

"It's a deal."

He breaks open the door and steps inside. Lex walks carefully across the ice to stand beside Natsu, ready to pull him into her shadow and leave. Something stops her.

"Gray? He's already beaten you once, let me handle him!"

"This will be the end of it. There won't be a next time."

Lyon rolls his eyes.

"You're rather confident in yourself, Gray."

"Ur died ten years ago because of me, but I can't let you get away with hurting my comrades, harming the village, and trying to melt that ice. We will accept our punishments together, Lyon."

Gray extends his arms straight out from his body and crosses them. Lyon jumps back.

"That stance…Iced Shell?! Have you gone mad?!"

"Release the villagers to their original forms this minute! Then take your accomplices and leave! This is the last chance I'll give you!"

"I see; you're using the spell as a bluff. What nonsense."

A massive, ice blue magic circle appears on the ground around Gray. Dangerously powerful magic surges around him.

"I'm serious! The fact Ur is gone because of me…I have to take responsibility for it at some point. I'm going to do it here. I've been prepared to die for the last ten years! Tell me, Lyon! Will we live, or will we die?"

"You won't do it!"

Cracks begin forming across Gray's skin.

"Sorry. You're wrong."

Suddenly, Gray is knocked from his feet onto his back. He sits up quickly and realizes Lex has somehow tackled him.

"Lex?! What the hell are you doing?!"

"Sorry…Natsu and I…couldn't…let you…"

He looks at her waist and realizes her wound has split open again. Blood is soaking through the bandage.

"You idiot! Jumping into a magic circle like that is dangerous!"

"Didn't jump…thrown…"

"WHAT?!"

She can hear Natsu from across the room.

"Darn good throw, wasn't it?!"

"YOU THREW LEX AT ME?!"

Lex laughs under her breath, staring at the icy ceiling as her vision blurs.

"Natsu…knock some sense…into him…"

With that, she passes out. She's awakened soon after by the jarring sensation of being carried over someone's shoulder. She knows it must be Natsu before she even opens her eyes based solely on his frantic running.

"Natsu! Put me down!"

"No, you'll slow me down!"

"What are you doing anyway?"

"Chasing after that weirdo in the mask!"

"Weirdo in a mask? What?"

"He has some crazy magic that does weird things like fixing the temple!"

"Wait, he fixed the ruins?!"

Natsu rounds a corner sharply causing Lex to cling to the back of his shirt for dear life. She always hated being slung over someone's shoulder and her wound wasn't really helping things.

"PUT ME DOWN!"

"DON'T KICK ME!"

"THEN PUT ME DOWN!"

He slaps her hard on the back of the thigh.

"STOP MOVING BEFORE I DROP YOU!"

"NATSU DRAGNEEL DID YOU JUST TOUCH MY LEG?!"

"HOW DO YOU THINK I'M CARRYING YOU?!"

"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!"

"THERE YOU ARE!"

Natsu bursts into the cavern where Deliora is and promptly sets Lex down on a rock. She huffs at him as he turns to face the short man wearing a red, horned mask and beige cloak.

"Get ready to taste fire!"

He lunges at the man, but he dodges easily and leaps to a higher point.

"Wonderful fighting words. How did you manage to find me?"

"I've got a good nose. You smell like women's perfume by the way."

"Listen, I really must revive Deliora."

"Forget about it. Not gonna happen now. Gray's kicking that guys butt, and I'm gonna kick yours!"

"Is that so?"

Light begins to shine down on Deliora. Natsu looks at it in annoyance.

"Someone's doing the ceremony up above?!"

"The Moon Drip is weak when performed by one person, but we already gathered enough moonlight."

Natsu spins around and faces Lex.

"Go! Hurry!"

He didn't have to tell her. The moment she saw the water rivulets flowing down the ice she had already broke out into a sprint. Suddenly a huge, perfectly round section of stone falls from above her. She sinks into her shadow before it can crush her and bolts out of the immediate danger zone. The ground below her cracks and separates, throwing her from her shadow.

Natsu attacks him, trying desperately to both end the fight quickly and create an opening for Lex. The masked man is swift in retaliation each time though, forcing Lex to dodge boulders and purposefully breaking apart the ground she tries to Shadow Walk on.

A horrible noise rings out, one so loud and filled with vengeful evil it knocks Lex from her feet as she struggles to cover her ears. It is Deliora's roar as it breaks through the rest of the ice, effectively freeing its upper body. The shock wave is so powerful it rattles the entire island.

She scrambles back to her feet and looks towards Natsu. He punches through a ball and shatters it only for it to recollect behind him and slam into him. The masked man is controlling it.

"I can control the flow of time. In this case, I returned the crystal to the time before it was broken. The Arc of Time is one kind of Lost Magic, you see."

Lex glances back towards Deliora. How were they going to get out of this one? Natsu was effectively getting his butt kicked!

"What do you get out of helping these guys anyway?"

"You are an odd one, aren't you? Lyon has no chance of defeating Deliora, so I will have him. There are spells to control immortal beasts after all."

"What a lame answer…"

"…Huh?"

"I just figured, you know, it'd be some reason that would get me really fired up to stop…"

Lex slaps her palm to her face.

"NATSU! He wants to control an all-powerful demon capable of obliterating pockets of humanity from this planet in a single day and THAT DOESN'T CARRY A SENSE OF URGENCY?!"

"Oh, right! What Lex said."

"Jeez…"

The man begins crumbling the ceiling as Natsu calls upon his flames, intent on making him pay for helping with the suffering of the island's villagers. Lex can't help but feel like a tiny bug compared to the power these two people are wielding and the demon filling her with a sense of dread.


	23. Suspension

Natsu lunges forward, his attack creating enough smoke for him to finally land a solid blow that sends the man flying. It's too late though. Deliora is free, and his roar once again fills the cave. The demon locks eyes with Lex momentarily and she stiffens. It stares at her a couple seconds before looking away as though he hadn't seen her at all.

Is it blind or something? She was right there; it probably could have killed her if it saw her. Maybe it can't see you if you stay still or something.

Gray enters the cave from the corridor. He dips his hand into the water he's standing in sadly.

"Gray! Let's take that thing down!"

A maniacal laugh reveals Lyon, who is dragging himself across the ground like a snake. Gray must have given him one hell of a thrashing because he looks a hit away from death.

"No, I will be the one to surpass Ur! I am the only one capable of fighting it!"

Natsu scoffs.

"You're way less 'capable' than us! Butt out!"

He won't stop spouting his crazed nonsense, so Gray knocks him down gently. The guy probably couldn't have stood if he wanted to anyway.

"You've done enough, Lyon. Now leave the rest to me, I'll seal Deliora away again."

He takes the Iced Shell stance and Lex momentarily wonders if Natsu will throw her through it again. She wouldn't really mind since it would save Gray, but she really hoped it wouldn't be necessary a second time.

Thankfully Natsu steps between Gray and the demon.

"I'll fight him."

"Natsu, get out of the way!"

"We stopped you before because we didn't want you to die. I didn't want you to die. Lex was calling your name when she was unconscious. Did you not get the message or something?"

Well that's embarrassing.

Deliora's fist meets Natsu's in a clash of forces so powerful to makes the ground tremble. The power intensifies until there is a sudden snapping sound. A crack spreads through the demon's body and he begins crumbling to the ground. Natsu leaps backwards.

"Woah, I didn't do that!"

Lyon leans up from where he lays.

"No…NO! It isn't possible!"

Lex stares in disbelief at the scene in front of her.

"It was already dead…Ur must have been slowly killing it all this time…It's nothing more than rubble now."

Natsu beams at Gray.

"Your master was awesome!"

Gray lets out a noise that's a cross between a laugh and a sob, placing his hand over his face. Natsu just grins at him broadly as Lex walks unsteadily over to the two of them.

"Let's go home."

"Not so fast you three."

Natsu screams and tries to run from Erza, but she grabs him by the scarf to stop him. Happy flies into Lex's arms sobbing something about Lucy trying to eat him. She glances over her shoulder and smiles at the sight of Gray helping Lyon up. She can't hear what they are saying to each other, but it's probably for the best that she doesn't. Now there was just one last thing to do; stop the curse.

However, Lyon points out something they'd all missed: if Moon Drip had been the culprit, why weren't he and his accomplices also demons? A better question was why hadn't they ever tried to investigate the Moon Drip, which they could obviously see, for three years?

With this in mind they head back to the storage area only to realize everyone is gone.

"Were they really here?"

"Yeah, I'm positive this is the place. The blood in that field back there confirms it."

Natsu nods. He'd pointed out the blood in the clearing from before was Lex's, probably from when her side was split open. There was no question this was where they all were.

One of the villagers suddenly appears and brings them back to the village. It looks like it was never destroyed. Everyone is baffled.

"The village was in shambles yesterday! It's like it went back in time."

Lex stops walking. She starts laughing suddenly and everyone looks at her curiously.

"It did. Hmm, I guess that guy wasn't all bad."

She waves off everyone's questions as they head farther into town. A woman appears and tells Lex and Gray to come into a hut so they can be treated for their injuries again. Lex finally gets a good look at Gray.

"Woah…You look like hell."

"Hey, you don't look much better."

"Really? I took one severe injury, you look like you took several to the same spot."

"Then why weren't you more help?"

Lex fumes at him and he laughs at her.

"I'm just messing with you. You fought well."

The ladies are just finishing up rebinding the two of them when Happy flies in.

"Guy! Erza is gathering everyone in the center of town!"

After thanks had been given for the bandages they hurry out to meet up with everyone else. She looks out over the crowd to Moka.

"Let us get our facts straight. You took these forms when the moon turned purple?"

"Technically, we only take these forms when the moon is out."

"It all started three years ago?"

"Yes."

"Then you should have seen a beam of light coming from the ruins almost daily."

Lex opens her mouth to tell Erza to stop, but it's too late. Even the pitfall had been restored, which she fell in with a mighty "AIEEE".

Natsu looks at Gray in nervous shock.

"She shrieked…like a girl…"

"Th-That was cute…"

She climbs out like nothing happened and continues talking. Lex has to bite the back of her thumb to keep from laughing.

"Why didn't you investigate?"

"Our village lore says to never go near the ruins."

"Mind telling us the truth?"

"...We tried, but for some reason we can't go near them…"

"Just as I thought…"

Erza changes into a set of armor and turns to them.

"Natsu, come with me. We will destroy the moon."

He punches the back of her spear and it rockets into the sky, colliding with something. A huge hole breaks open in some kind of shell, allowing real moonlight in.

Everyone is confused when the villagers don't turn back to normal. Lex, on the other hand, suddenly tenses where she stands. Gray takes one glance at her disturbed look and touches her shoulder lightly.

"Lex?"

"This feeling…It's like before."

"What feeling?"

"The one I got from Deliora, but in comparison it's miniscule."

Erza walks up to Lex.

"You're right. The film only affected their memory, they've always been demons. It's why they can't approach the ruins, which are on sacred ground."

"What a plot twist…"

At this point Bobo, very much alive and well, reappears to thank them. After that the village bursts into celebration.

Lex is sitting at a table by herself when a few men approach. She looks up from her drink as they sit around.

"Lex! Dance with us!"

"D-Dance?"

"Yeah! Other girls are dancing too, join in!"

"I don't know…"

The demons look away, so Lex quickly adds.

"Not because of what you look like! You are all very handsome demon men!"

They all clasp their hands above their hearts, blushing like crazy.

"Lex is as sweet as she is beautiful!"

"Dancing with you will forever warm our hearts!"

"No other human compares to Lex!"

She blushes furiously at their lovestruck words as they guide her to where the others are dancing. She then finds herself merrily spinning about with the men. They are much better dancers than she, but the dance is upbeat and full of fun. Eventually she spins and lands with her hands on a chest that is made of much more familiar flesh.

"They dragged you into this too?"

She looks at Gray's face and grins.

"Yeah, apparently I'm the female flavor of the night."

"Glad I'm not the only one, those women were going to dance me to death! They have so much energy."

"That's just because they're excited to be dancing with Mr. Gray Fullbuster."

Her tone is sarcastic, as is the smirk on her face. It's replaced by an enraged look when she spots the people who just entered the village. Breaking away from Gray she goes to stand between them and the village.

"Sherry. Yuka. Percy."

"Cold Emperor Lyon is incapacitated at the moment, because of you."

"We have come for payback."

Lex takes a menacing step towards them.

"We already came to an agreement with Lyon."

"That makes no difference to us."

Lex clenches her fist in rage and rushes them, her bare fist colliding with each person in turn. She stops in confusion when they don't retaliate.

Percy approaches her, his arms at his sides. He surprises her by wrapping his arms around her and hugging her tightly.

"You have every right to be angry. I doubt we can atone for what we have done…Lyon told us everything."

"Wait…You mean…"

"Thanks to your guild, we've been freed from our hatred. We almost became as bad as that demon himself…"

He lets his chin rest on the top of Lex's head and hugs her tighter.

"I can't believe we almost killed these people…I almost killed you, Lex…"

"Idiots…"

She throws her arms around him and squeezes him tightly, tears in the corners of her eyes.

"I don't know if I hate you more for trying to kill me or making me so damn happy to see you guys again!"

They separate and he ruffles her hair, then she hugs Sherry and Yuka as well. They all stand around her as she excitedly tells them about joining Fairy Tail. Her friends behind her all smile at the excited young woman as she reconnects with lost friends.

Needless to say, everyone got a happy ending.

Everyone except the Fairy Tail mages Erza promptly took back to Magnolia the next morning.

Thankfully the master was gone, so whatever unspeakable punishment there was would be postponed.


	24. The Great Boot Caper

Lucy enters her bedroom and stops short as she encounters several stray shoes.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm-OW!"

Lex, who is currently waist deep under her bed, bangs her head on the frame attempting to get out.

"I can't find my boots."

"Maybe if you didn't kick all your shoes under the bed, you could find them."

"Hey, I have a _system_ thank you. Heels go under the head of the bed, slippers in the middle, and flats go under the foot of the bed. My boots, however, go at the end of the bed and have their own spot. Now I can't find them…"

Lucy's giggling makes Lex look up at her.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Because I've never seen you _pout_ before!"

"I'm not pouting!"

"Yes you are, look at your face!"

Lucy holds her compact mirror out to her roommate. Sure enough, Lex's bottom lip is jutting out in the most pitiful expression she'd ever seen on her own face. She stops immediately, but Lucy is still laughing.

"Really Lex, you can look so cute when you try."

"S-Shut up…"

She tosses her shoes back under her bed with a huff.

"Someone stole my boots…"

"Why would anyone steal your boots anyway?"

"I don't know…"

"Should we go buy you a new pair?"

"No! Those were special…"

"They were?"

"Master Babasaama gave them to me when I reached B-Class back at Lamia Scale. They were custom made for me; they fit as well as my own skin…"

"Oh…I'm sure they'll turn up! I can't think of anyone who-"

She stops suddenly, face dumbfounded.

"They…wouldn't…would they?"

"Who?"

"Well…Natsu and Happy do spend an awful lot of time over here…and they do break in of their own accord…"

That was true. More than once Lex had walked into the house only to have the pink haired dragon slayer and his flying fleabag scare the daylights out of her. Half of those times she'd punched one of them, and usually it was poor Happy that happened to be the one to startle her first. She started setting aside a fish fund just for the occasions she upset him.

"If those idiots touched my boots they are DEAD!"

The venom in her voice sends Lucy running behind the bedroom door.

"Scary!"

Lex pulls on a pair of flats and stalks out the door. When she enters the guild people forgo their usual greetings when they see her face.

"Natsu! Happy!"

Natsu spins around, happy as a clam.

"Yo!"

"Where are my boots?!"

"What boots?"

"The black leather midcalf steel toed boots I've worn every day since you met me!"

"You wear boots?"

Lex facepalms again. She's been doing that a lot lately…

"Seriously, where are my boots guys? This isn't funny!"

Happy floats by.

"At a sports store!"

Lex snatches him out of the air, giving him a glare so powerful the waterworks start.

"What. Sports. Store?"

"WAAAAAAH! Lex is scary like Erza!"

"Happy!"

"Be nicer to meeeee!"

She cuddles him to her chest, her eyebrow twitching as she resists the urge to crush him for being so darn annoying.

"There. Better?"

"Not good enough."

"CAT I WILL KILL YOU!"

"WAAAAH LEX IS MEAN!"

Natsu leans over to speak to Happy, who is still being held captive by Lex.

"Happy, which store is it?"

"Ellis's Outer Wear And Auto Motive Repair."

He grins up at her and she begrudgingly lets Happy go.

"You better not be the reason they're there."

She walks into town, hastily entering Ellis's Outer Wear And Auto Motive Repair, desperately resisting the urge to correct the sign.

"Hello? Are you Ellis?"

"Yessum, that's me."

She looks at the man behind the counter. He's an average height, young looking guy wearing a yellow shirt and a blue and white baseball cap. His jeans and shirt are spotted with motor oil.

"Excuse me, but have you seen a pair of size seven black leather women's boots?"

"Hmm…I think so. Lemme check."

He starts digging around behind the counter.

"Hey, I ever tell you 'bout my buddy Keith?"

"No?"

"Oh man! My buddy Keith tried camping out on top of a building once. He was shooting crows, but the police were too busy teargassin' him to ask what he was doin' up there. He screamed for an entire year every single time he opened his eyes! Oh, man! At first, it was funny; then it just got sad, but then it got funny again! Oh, man!"

"Um…Okay?"

"That ain't even the half of it! One time me and Keith made a homemade bumper car ride with ridin' mowers in his backyard. Mower blade wounds over 90% of his body. I didn't run him over, either; he somehow managed to fall under his own."

Lex looks around the store uncomfortably as he continues to talk.

"I ever tell you about the time me and Keith snuck a paintball gun on a rollercoaster? I never heard'a anybody else doin' it, so I thought we might'a invented a sport, so Keith called the patent office, but we were still on the coaster and all so Keith weren't payin' no attention and fell out the rollercoaster. Yeah, he didn't drop far, mind you, just onto the tracks, but the carnival people wouldn't stop the ride 'cause all the other people paid good money and Keith snuck on for free, so he had to dodge for, like, 20 minutes or so. Then afterwards Keith and I made fireworks cause the ones at Kiddy Land were AWESOME. Now, I didn't know squat about chemistry, but Keith figured 'Gasoline burns, doesn't it?' Heh, third-degree burns on 95 percent of his body. Man, people in the next city over were calling to complain about the smell of burning skin. But Keith man, he don't give up, and Thanksgiving was the week after so he tried to deep-fry a turkey. Third-degree burns over 90 percent of his body. His doctor called up, like, other doctors to look at him cause they'd never seen burns on top of existing burns―"

"Ellis…Can this wait?"

"Oh yeah, yeah sure. Reminds me of one time when my buddy Keith had his car drop in a lake off a bridge. Yeah, see, he was driving over it late at night and there in the middle of the bridge was what looked like, In Keith's estimation, like a dead bear, so Keith gets out his car to find a stick to poke at it, right? Well, it turns out it's just some lady's fur coat that musta fallen out her car, so, hey, free coat, right? Now, owls won't normally attack a man, but in this case, they were hungry, and that made them reckless, man. Keith reckons that they musta been there for hours watchin' what they thought was a bear carcass, 'cause as soon as he picked it up, them owls had claws in him an inch deep. Well, Keith figures his best bet is to jump in a lake, 'cause owls can't swim. Well, them owls could. He fought them for like 20 minutes treading water, and during that time, a boat came, the bridge went up and down went Keith's car. Man, sometimes nature's just tryin' to teach us, if we'd only listen."

By now Lex is practically crying and banging her head on the counter.

"Oh, sorry, what was I helpin' ya with?"

"My BOOTS Ellis, my BOOTS!"

"Oooooh yeeeaaaahhhh…Some fella picked 'em up 'bout an hour ago. He sure liked the alterations he paid for, those were some fine boots."

Lex's face pales and her voice comes out in a tiny squeak.

"Alterations?"

"Yeah, alterations. Speaking of alterations one time my buddy Keith- Hey, you leavin'? Come again!"

Lex walks out into the street, her shoulders drooping as she sulks. Her wonderful boots were gone…

"Hey! Lex!"

She looks up and sees Gray calling out to her.

"I've been looking for you, come with me."

She drags along behind him as he guides her out into the forest. They stop at the same pond where they had formed their team at.

"Here, put these on."

He hands her a box. When she opens it her eyes bug out of her head.

It's her boots, and a couple of weird silver blade thingies.

"Wh…What is this?"

"They're ice skates."

"H-Huh?"

"Well, I didn't know your shoe size so I kind of nabbed your boots yesterday when you got home. I had some skates made that can strap onto your boots since I know you don't have any."

"But…why?"

Gray turns, freezing the pond over with a thick, perfectly flat sheet of ice. He then plops down and straps his own pair of skates over his own boots.

"Because you said you've never been ice skating before."

Lex numbly pulls her boots on, strapping the skates into place. She feels light and airy and just fantastic in general when Gray offers her his hand and guides her out onto the ice.

"Woah!"

"Careful, I've got you."

"This is…really nice of you, Gray."

"Hey, what kind of friend would I be if I didn't at least do something like this for you? I am an ice mage after all; it'd be stupid if I didn't take you ice skating."

When he looks over she has a huge grin on her face.

"What?"

"Hehe, I've been waiting for you to call me your friend."

Her foot shoots out to the side and Gray has to steady her.

"Just concentrate. No no, bend your knees a little. Now, only pick the skates up a little bit. There you go, step lightly and purposefully. Lean forward just a little. Okay, I'm going to let go now."

He releases her hands and watches her zip unsteadily across the ice. It isn't long before she gets better at it though, smiling the whole way.

This may be the best idea he's had in weeks.


	25. Body Swap

"Oh would you hold still!"

"Mira that hurts like hell! You're pulling it too tight!"

"Quit it, Lex. It's just a bandage."

Mira had finally managed to corner Lex in the guild hall so she could change her bandages again. Ever since the first time she'd helped with them Lex had been avoiding her like the plague. She couldn't imagine why…

"Mira! It's a bandage, not a corset!"

"Hold still! It's only tight because you've been squirming so much, silly."

The rest of the guild is looking at her pityingly. At some point in time they had all felt the horror that is Mira playing nurse.

By the time she finishes with Lex she looks sick, hunched over the bar and breathing shallowly. Gray doesn't look much better, but at least he's used to Mirajane's motherly tendencies. He sits down beside Lex and pats her back sympathetically.

"You'll learn soon enough that it's best to just hold still when Mirajane tries treating you. It isn't quite as bad then."

All Lex can do is wheeze in reply. She highly doubts keeping still would have changed anything. Mira is terrifying when she's smiling sweetly at you and practically squeezing you to death. Heck, that was probably scarier than the look Erza gave her when she went to get them from Galuna.

"Hey, why don't we take a job? I think we've recovered enough to get out again."

Lex makes a little breezy noise that Gray takes as a yes. He goes to the request board and starts looking around some. Mirajane smiles happily.

"Oh! I forgot the log book in the storage room. I'll be right back."

The moment Mirajane leaves the room Lex hastily rips the bandages off, breathing deeply for the first time in the last hour.

"I don't care what you pick! Just get me out of here!"

She's out the guild doors in seconds with Gray traipsing behind soon after. He hands her a flyer and a new roll of bandages. She gingerly rewraps herself, her entire waist still sore from Mira practically squishing her organs out of her body.

"What is it?"

"Something about a shop owner trying to get back a stolen book."

"Great, maybe we won't have to come back for a couple of days…"

They walk through Magnolia together heading to the little magic book store. Lex can't help feeling a little self-conscious as people continue to stare.

"Do they really have to look at us like that?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure what's up with that…"

The women are all mostly giving Lex this weird, grumpy frown. The men are all acting fairly normal but the ladies are creating this bizarrely uncomfortable air about them. Gray just shrugs and they continue onwards.

The guy who runs the magic book store is a lanky old balding man wearing glasses as thick as the base of a soda bottle. He also spits when he says words with an "s" or "p" sound in them, which isn't exactly helped by the fact he stands a bit too close to them when he speaks.

"It was a very significant piece of Nessy Swallow Spiller's works, The Silver Swapping Sequence! Books like that are surprisingly unusual, you understand. I shouldn't wholesale it after its reappearance, instead I'll save it! No person ever desired to purchase it previously regardless."

Gray slowly wipes his face. Lex had managed to sneak out of the spit zone before he started talking, since he was focused on Gray.

"We'll find it. Who stole it?"

"That dastardly, suspicious salesman Chester! He runs the Sage Supplier on East Spinster Street."

Gray coughs and pulls his shirt off; using what few dry spots he can find to clean off his face. At this point Lex desperately hopes he abandons that shirt somewhere.

Usually they would ask more questions, but Gray was running out of cloth to dry off with. They head out with only the name of the guy under suspicion and the name of the book to go on. The Sage Supplier is a modernized magic store a few blocks away. Chester himself, also an old bald man, harrumphs grumpily when they arrive.

"Buy something or get out."

Gray shoves Lex front of him. He is NOT doing the talking this time.

"Hello…do you happen to have a book called The Silver Swapping Sequence? I really need a copy."

"I don't have anything like that."

"Are you sure? It's by Nessy-"

"Look, I already know McCarthy sent you. Tell him I don't have his darn book! And tell him to leave me alone! I'm not a thief!"

He kicks them out of the store. Lex sighs and turns to Gray.

"Now what?"

"I guess we should try and get back in and have a look around."

"Won't breaking and entering…"

She trailed off, staring at someone as they walked by. A boy, probably about fifteen, is walking past them with his nose in a book. She elbows Gray to get his attention.

"Does that say Silver?"

"Yep."

"Is that the book?"

"Maybe?"

They approach the boy slowly. He takes one look at them and takes off running, forcing the two to chase him.

Lex goes into her shadow and rushes after him as Gray freezes the ground, causing him to slip and slide into the wall where Lex was waiting for him. He looks at the two of them in panicked fear and quickly flips to a page in the book.

"CHENJURINGU!"

Lex and Gray stop, suddenly feeling weak and lightheaded. They drop to the ground abruptly on top of the boy, pinning him. The boy in question is too weak to free himself, so he starts yelling for help. Bisca and Alzack, who happened to be nearby, are quickly on the scene.


	26. Changeling

Lex opens her eyes and sits up. She isn't sure why, but she is FREEZING!

"It's so cold in here! What the heck, guys?!"

Everyone gathers around Lex, who has been haphazardly slumped onto a bench. She's a bit miffed they just tossed her into a seat. Natsu is laughing at her.

"Idiot! How can you be cold? You really are stupid!"

"Because it's cold in here, alright? Why are you being such a jerk?"

"Whatever, squinty eyed freak."

She stands up quickly, hands on her hips.

"What did you call me?! Lucy, can you believe this-"

She turns and looks at her friend, who is currently looking over someone lying on a table.

Someone with long, wavy black hair like hers.

Wearing her clothes.

Who has her exact body type and face.

Lex breaks into an ear shattering scream, stumbling backwards. She finally realizes just how much deeper her voice is.

"OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! WHAT DID THAT BOY DO TO US?!"

All eyes are on her now, except she isn't herself. She reaches up and her hands touch bare, toned pectoral muscles. She feels weird, all masculine and crap. Not to mention the other oddities of suddenly becoming a man.

She runs her…his? She runs her hands through Gray's hair, her eyes wide with shock. She can even feel the scar on his forehead with her fingers. Natsu pokes her a little.

"You sure are acting weird…What's up with you, Gray?"

"I'M NOT GRAY! I'M LEX!"

"Haha, very funny."

"I'M SERIOUS!"

She looks around frantically before running up to Lucy.

"Lucy! You know it's me, right?"

"Um…"

She leans forward and whispers something in Lucy's ear. Whatever it is, it's something only Lex should know.

"You ARE Lex!"

"Ugh, why does my back hurt so much?"

They all turn slowly and look at Gray, who in true Gray fashion is in his underwear.

Except its Lex's body that's in her underwear.

She rushes over, frantically trying to cover her body. Gray takes one look at her and screams.

"That's my body!"

"AND THAT'S MINE! GET DRESSED!"

Gray looks down at himself and his face turns so red it's almost glowing like a stoplight. Erza is stalking over threateningly.

"GRAY! QUIT BESMERCHING LEX'S VIRTUE!"

"I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON!"

Lex finally manages to get Gray redressed, much to every other male guild members disappointment. She sits down, her head in her hands as she laments.

"I'll never be able to look them in the eye again…"

"Um…Lex…"

She opens her eyes again and realizes there's ice in her lap. Only then she notices she's drooling ice.

"Oh…Oh crap…I don't know how to control Gray's magic!"

Gray takes a step forward and suddenly starts sinking into the ground. Lex pulls him out quickly and drags him over.

"You think that's a problem?! I can't walk without falling into a shadow!"

"Where is that boy?!"

Bisca holds something out to her.

"He ran off, but he left this behind."

Lex opens the book and lets out an irate groan.

"Changeling magic? Really? That's illegal in Fiore!"

Lucy looks over her shoulder at the book. Most of the words are complete gibberish.

"Um…maybe there's a reversal spell?"

"I guess, but I can't read any of this…"

Natsu grabs the book, looking at it.

"I can read it."

He says something and Lex's vision blurs. When she opens them again she can feel that familiar top heavy weight and grins.

That is, until she sees strands of blonde hair fall in her face.

"Oh no…"

Natsu and Loke look at each other and scream, as does Erza and Happy. Lucy is in Lex's body and poor Gray has switched places with Macao. Everyone else in the guild seems to be themselves.

The next few minutes are a horrifying mix of Happy trying to reequip, Erza falling into depression, and Loke drooling fire everywhere. Everything has officially fallen into chaos when the master returns.

"What's going on here?"

They all turn around and cry in unison.

"MASTER HELP US!"

Lex hurries over to him, pleading.

"We've switched bodies! Help us!"

"How did that happen?"

"Some weird book! A boy had it and it ended up here and Natsu read it and-"

"Okay, okay, I get it. I was looking forward to punishing you guys when I got back but I guess it can wait."

He looks them all over, thinking deeply. Then he grabs the book and thumbs through it. Little fuzzy Erza approaches him.

"Do you have a solution, Master?"

"Nope. I don't know."

Lex is about to burst into tears. She can't stay as Lucy! She doesn't even know how celestial magic works!

"We're back!"

They look towards the door and see Levy enter with her friends, Jet and Droy. Well, friends isn't really good term…they're more like Levy's personal cheerleaders than anything else.

Lucy rushes over to her.

"Levy! Can you help us?!"

She explains the situation and Levy nods before running around gathering books and sitting down to decipher the spell.

Nearly an hour passes before she jumps up.

"I got it! Just let me cast it!"

And that was how every single person in the Fairy Tail guild hall had their bodies swapped around. It took forever to find someone with the proper knowledge to break the spell.

Lex will forever be scared for life after having to dwell in Natsu's body for so long. Needless to say, they burned the stupid book.

Chester wasn't too happy when they came around looking for his grandson either.

Especially since it was an angry mob of Fairies.


	27. Feelings Manifest

It's nearly nine in the morning when Gray goes to get Lex. The past few days she'd met him in the woods without him having to go get her, so he's curious as to why she didn't show up at all today.

He walks into her bedroom like he usually does.

"Lex, are you still in bed?"

She pulls the blanket over head with an irritated groan.

"Go away; I'm not getting up today."

"Why not? Today we're sparring, it'll be fun."

"No! After what happened with that stupid book I'd like to have a day of just laying around! No jobs, no people, just me and my nice soft bed."

"Come on Lex, you can't stay in bed all day."

She pulls the blanket tighter around her.

"Yes I can! Do you have any idea how embarrassing that was?! Everyone saw me in my underwear!"

"It wasn't everyone…Mystogan and Laxus weren't there…"

"It doesn't matter! I'm so embarrassed, leave me alone!"

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about. They saw exactly what they would have seen if you were in a bikini."

"It isn't the same…"

"If you were wearing underwear like Lucy's then you would have had a better reason to be embarrassed, but you weren't. You're fine, now come on."

Her head pokes out from under her blanket, messy tangled black hair pouring out around her face.

"When did you see Lucy's underwear?"

He stifles a laugh with his hand.

"What?"

"You're pouting."

She sucks her bottom lip back in angrily.

"No I wasn't, and you didn't answer my original question!"

"Her laundry basket is right there. She doesn't exactly bury them in it or anything."

She had to give him that one. Lucy owned some…interesting undergarments.

"Why don't we all go out on a job together? Would that cheer you up?"

"All?"

"The Strongest Team. Erza, Natsu, Lucy, you, and me. Having everyone together always seems to get you in a good mood."

"I thought you wanted to spar?"

"We can do that tomorrow; it's too late now anyway. Now get up."

"…Fine. Put your clothes back on and get out so I can get dressed."

He grabs his pants from the floor and looks back at her with a stupid grin.

"Why? I've already seen you in your underwear."

"OUT!"

He sprints out, the shoe she threw smacking into her now closed bedroom door. She gets ready and meets Gray in the living room.

"Once again, put your clothes back on."

She goes to get something to eat while he gets dressed again.

"So where are we all going anyway?"

"Lucy found a request for a group of mages to help get rid of Vulcans from the mountains around a city. Should be fun, Vulcans are always interesting to fight with."

"…Does she know we're going with them?"

"Well, Erza invited herself along already so I doubt they'd care now."

Lex rolls her eyes and sips her tea.

"Those are the ape things, right?"

"Yeah, they use Take Over on people to survive."

"Alright, where are we meeting them?"

Lex and Gray head to the station where everyone else is waiting for the eleven o'clock train. Then it's just a matter of waiting patiently to get there. (Unless you're Natsu, who had to be dragged onto the train)

Lex turns to Natsu pityingly.

"Let's try something."

He gurgles a reply. Lex holds out her hand and sucks him into a shadow.

"Imprison."

Everyone is looking at her in disbelief. Erza raises an eyebrow at her.

"What was that for?"

"There's no spatial or sensory recognition in a shadow for other people. I'm the only person aware anything is moving when I'm inside."

"So in theory, Natsu should be fine when you bring him out?"

"In theory. I've never used it on someone with motion sickness before so who knows. I've also never used it on someone for long periods of time, though…"

The train ride lasts for about two more hours. When they finally come to a stop Lex reaches into her shadow to pull Natsu out.

He doesn't move or say anything. Lex pokes him and gets no response.

"Uh oh…"

"What?"

"I think he fainted."

"What?! Why?"

"Well, um, people who aren't used to being in a space with absolutely no senses tend to…freak out…or pass out…and Natsu kind of has better senses than most…"

Happy flies down to his friend, crying profusely.

"You killed him!"

"No I didn't! He'll be fine when he wakes up."

Erza eyes Lex curiously.

"So…there is no sensory stimulation at all in there?"

"Well, not really. I can hear and see, but other people completely lose their sense of sight, smell, hearing, etcetera. I can restore their senses slightly if I want to, but I usually don't have a reason to."

"Is it…therapeutic?"

"Um…I guess? I like it in there…"

It's at this point Natsu leaps up suddenly, his head flaming.

"LEX! WHAT THE HELL!"

"Sorry! At least you aren't motion sick?"

"LIKE THAT WAS ANY BETTER!"

Lex ducks behind Gray and uses him as a human shield, much to his irritation. A cold glare from Erza puts Natsu out before a fight breaks out.

They get their information from the city council and head up into the mountains. Since the mountain is huge they split up. Natsu and Lucy go left, Gray and Lex go right, and Erza heads straight. Gray and Lex walk for a while before they hear the telltale yell of a beaten Vulcan.

"Sounds like Erza found some first."

"Let's try this way, Lex."

He points up the mountainside where the snow has thickened considerably. The farther they hike, the worse the cold becomes. It doesn't bother Gray, but Lex isn't a fan of the freezing cold.

It isn't long before four Vulcans spring out. Gray pulls half of them away to fight by himself.

The last two spring at Lex.

"Black Pearl!"

An orb of solid shadow encases her and the Vulcans bounce off of it. She bursts out, hands raised.

"Night Core: Gauntlet!"

Arms and hands incased in solid shadow she punches one Vulcan with enough force to send it flying. It hits the ground and slowly ceases to exist, defeated. Vulcans come out to steal bodies after they have drained the ones they have, so by now they are weak enough that defeat means death.

The second one dives for her and she snap kicks him away in time to make an opening for another skull shattering punch. The second one is flung upwards to where Gray has just finished off his two. He starts to congratulate her when he hears a rumbling sound.

"What is that?"

"Did someone create an explosion across the mountain?!"

She looks up and her eyes bug out when she sees the snow tumbling down the mountain towards them.

"GRAY!"

"I SEE IT!"

He grabs her hand and they start running, trying to get out of the avalanches radius. They aren't fast enough and snow engulfs them. It pushes them down the mountainside at incredible speed.

Lex fights to the surface of the turbulent snow and spots Gray not far away. She reaches out her hand and calls to him. He struggled frantically to pull his hands together so he can stop the snow from crushing down on them.

"ICE MAKE: SHIELD!"

The ice shield springs up, splitting the snow around them as they continue to careen towards the ground. He manages to grab her hand and pull her close to him, his arms pulling her tightly against his chest.

"BLACK PEARL!"

Seconds later they smash into the ground. The orb received the impact in their place. Lex allows it to break apart, disappearing in the harsh sunlight.

Gray is lying on top of Lex, both of them trying to catch their breath after such a horribly sudden ordeal. He lifts his head and realizes he is inches from her face.

Lex feels air ghosting across her lips and opens her eyes. Gray's face is so close to hers that if she were to move just a little bit he would-

She blushes furiously and pushes the thought from her mind. Gray sees her face change color and it snaps him out of his daze enough for him to roll off of her. He flops down beside her in the snow and looks up the mountain to where they had fallen from.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

"That shadow orb thing was cool."

"Thanks."

They lay that way in awkward silence for a moment until Gray stands and pulls Lex to her feet.

"Let's head back into the city."

Lex nods numbly and follows behind him. Did her heart always used to hammer like this when she looked at him? She can't see his face from behind him, so she wonders nervously if he's just as flustered as she is.

Gray doesn't turn back around for a long time. After all, how would Lex react when she sees he's as red as a tomato? He waits until he thinks he looks normal again before finally turning around towards her.

"I think I see Erza up ahead, let's hurry and go meet her."

"Right, right."

They both independently hope no one notices how awkward they're being. Neither wants to recount the emotionally confusing fall down the mountainside.


	28. Phantom Lord

They get off of the train in Magnolia in exceptionally good moods. Lex and Lucy are walking arm in arm and chatting happily about a sale at their favorite store that's supposed to start soon (Lex may not be girly, but she does enjoy feminine activities from time to time). Erza pulls her cart along throwing her two cents into the conversation occasionally. Natsu and Gray are arguing, something about being able to handle all the Vulcans by themselves. Erza eventually splits them up and tells Gray to put his clothes back on.

Lex splits away from the group, running up ahead.

"Let's get something from that new tempura stand, it smells wonder…"

Her voice trails off as she rounds the corner. The group senses the change and realizes that the people around them are staring and whispering amongst themselves.

"Lex, what is it?"

"No…No way…"

They rush to her side to see what she's staring at. Their eyes lock on to the guild hall and they all let out a collective gasp.

Huge, metal beams are stuck in the building. It's badly damaged and Lex is surprised it's still standing. They all break out into a sprint and hurry to their defaced guild hall.

Natsu is shaking with rage.

"Our guild…WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR GUILD?!"

"Phantom…"

They turn and see Mirajane approaching them. She looks ready to burst into tears at any moment as she lays eyes on the destruction again. He turns to her darkly.

"Did you say 'Phantom'?"

"It's frustrating to admit, but they got us good…"

He's infuriated, his body tense as he looks back at the guild hall. Lucy turns to Lex, since Erza and Gray look too disturbed to approach.

"Why would Phantom do this?"

"They've been rivals with Fairy Tail for as long as I can remember. It isn't uncommon for guilds to butt heads, but to think they would do something like this…"

"Are they picking a fight with us?"

"I really hope not, wars between guilds are illegal."

"It's illegal for guilds to fight amongst themselves?"

"Yeah, think about it. The level of destruction could be devastating if a war between guilds broke out. We're supposed to keep the peace, not ruin it. Besides, Master Makarov and Phantom Lord's Jose are both members of the Ten Mage Saints. It would be really bad both politically and environmentally if the two of them started fighting."

"Ten Mage Saints?"

"It's a title given to the most powerful mages in Fiore. I don't much about it personally; you'd want to ask Mirajane."

"Master is really powerful, huh?"

Mira eventually indicates for everyone to follow her down to the first underground floor of Fairy Tail. It has been converted to a makeshift pub in the absence of their hall.

They spot Makarov drinking on a crate. He turns and drunkenly slurs a welcome as they approach him.

Natsu, of course, isn't happy.

"Gramps! How can you be so carefree?!"

"How was it, Lucy? Did the job go well?"

"…Yes…"

Erza looks at him sternly.

"Master! Do you not understand the current situation?!"

"The guild has been demolished!"

He takes another drink and laughs.

"Now, now. Calm down. It's hardly worth fussing over. Phantom, huh? Is that the best those fools can do? Dunno what they're so happy about, attacking an empty guild like that."

Lex lets out the breath she didn't know she was holding. She'd been afraid people were hurt in the attack and had been waiting for the bad news.

Mira gives a halfhearted smile and sits down beside the master.

"They attacked last night when everyone was gone."

"There's no point fretting about someone who can only do sneak attacks! Forget about 'em!"

Natsu's fist crashes through the crate beside him, startling everyone in the vicinity. Makarov doesn't even flinch. He was probably expecting this.

"I can't agree with that! I won't feel satisfied until we've destroyed them!"

"That's enough on the subject. We'll handle our requests down here until things are fixed upstairs."

"This isn't the time for work!"

"Natsu! That's enough out of you!"

Lex wanders away, unable to stomach the confrontation anymore. Coming home to something like this is just…

"Are you alright?"

She turns to Gray. He's shirtless again, but she doesn't really feel like pointing it out.

"I should be asking you that. Nobody was hurt, but…you grew up in that guild hall and now it's in such disarray."

"The hall can be rebuilt…"

"I know, but it's such a low jab…It could have been worse, but still…"

He steps forward and places a hand on her shoulder.

"Master won't act on this, not for the hall. Phantom had better watch their backs from here on out, though."

She sighs, Natsu's angry rant overtaking the guild chatter.

"He's really giving Erza a hard time…"

"…I'd better go do something…"

The guild is filled with a depressed, stifled air. Everyone wants revenge and they all know they can't have it. Lex touches Lucy's shoulder lightly.

"Why don't we go out to eat and then head home? I don't really feel like taking another job right now…"

She agrees, so they say goodbye to everyone and leave. They go to a little restaurant on the canal for a quiet dinner and walk home. Lex can't help feeling troubled, but she tries to resist the feeling.

"Things are getting intense, aren't they?"

"Yeah…I'd much rather this whole ordeal never happened. I'm not sure what the point of attacking an empty guild is other than trying to kill our morale."

"Well it did the trick…"

"Don't let it get you down. Maybe the new guild hall will be even better than the last one."

That succeeds in cheering Lucy up slightly, but she knows it won't work on the others. After all, Natsu and some of the other mages grew up in that guild hall. Losing it must be like losing their childhood home…

Lex is pulled from her thoughts when she hears shrieking from inside their house. Peeking through the open doorway she sees Erza, Natsu, and Gray crowded around their dining table eating their food. Lucy shoots her the most pitiful look she's ever been given.

Seriously, how do they keep getting in and how did Erza find Lex's tea stash?

"Concerning Phantom, the fact they've come all the way to this city is troubling."

"They probably have all of our addresses too. Mira suggested we all stick together."

Happy springs up onto Lex, pawing at her arm.

"Everyone is having a bunch of sleepovers right now! Erza didn't trust Gray and Natsu to be alone with you two, though."

Gray shoots a glare at him.

"What did you say, cat?"

"Gray is a pervert, so he might have gotten handsy without Erza here!"

"Quit spouting lies like that!"

"Lex! I want fish!"

Erza just smiles and shakes her head when Lex and Lucy look at her.

"You are both young women, it would be improper for two men to stay with you unsupervised."

Lex suddenly wonders if Erza knows how often those two break into their house. Even more importantly, had she never considered they went on missions together that lasted multiple days? That, or this was her way of trying to incorporate herself into their "slumber party."

"Lex! Lex! Fish!"

"Okay, okay, come on."

She takes Happy into the kitchen and pulls out a package of fresh fish, placing them on a plate for him and taking him back to the table. She sees Lucy freaking out over Erza being in her underwear drawer, Natsu finding their candy stash, and Gray lounging on Lucy's bed in his underwear.

"You guys are making yourselves a little too at home…"

Erza spins around with a glare.

"You guys reek of sweat, go wash. If we're sleeping in the same room you can at least bathe."

They reject the idea, so she clasps them both on the shoulder.

"Fine. I guess I can bathe with you, just like in the old days."

Judging by the absolutely mortified look on Gray and Natsu's faces, they must have been recalling an unpleasant memory. Lex decides to come to their rescue.

"Erza, why don't you go in first so you can keep an eye on them without having to wait?"

She agrees and heads into the bathroom. The boys relax and flop down on the floor.

Lex wanders about finding extra pillows and blankets as Erza finishes up and Lucy goes in. She spots Gray sitting at Lucy's desk reading something.

She walks over and takes the papers from him, putting them back in the desk.

"Hey, I was just getting to the good part."

"Please don't read that. Lucy promised Levy she would be the first person to read it when it's done."

"She didn't want you to be the first one?"

"I don't mind. Levy and Lucy have more in common when it comes to books."

It's Lex's turn in the bath. She comes back in brown cloth shorts and an oversized green shirt and tells Gray to go next. He eventually does.

She plops down on her bed with a new roll of bandages and looks at her side. Percy had wounded her pretty badly, so it was taking longer to heal than she wanted. At least now it had reached the last few stages of being a scab. She rolls a new layer of white cloth around her waist to keep it clean and tosses the rest of the roll to Gray when he comes out so he can tend to his own old wounds. They were both healing nicely, thankfully. Natsu is already asleep on the ground.

"Why did Phantom attack so suddenly, anyway?"

Erza shakes her head at Lucy's question.

"I don't know. We've had brushes with them in the past, but never anything like this."

"How tough are they?"

"Offensively, we are on equal ground. Master Jose is one of the Ten Mage Saints, and he has the Element Five, which is like our S-Class. The most dangerous one among them is Black Steel Gajeel. He was the one who attacked our guild; he's an iron dragon slayer."

"Natsu isn't the only one?!"

"No, and I'm sure there are more out there somewhere."

"Does that mean he eats iron and stuff?"

"Most likely. Only dragon slayers can eat their own elements as far as I am aware. Now, let's go to sleep. It's late."

Erza ends up sleeping in Lucy's bed with her while the boys sleep on a palette of blankets on the floor. Lex is just drifting off when she feels her bed shift.

She looks up to see Gray sitting beside her, squinting to see her in the darkness.

"Gray? What do you want?"

"There isn't enough room on the floor and dragon breath keeps kicking me in his sleep."

"So?"

"So scoot over."

"You know Erza will kill you if she catches you in my bed, right?"

"Don't worry, Erza is a heavy sleeper. I'll just get up before she does."

"Uh huh…Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you."

She moves closer to the wall and Gray climbs under her blanket with her. He rolls over so his back is to her at a socially acceptable distance.

"Goodnight."

She doesn't get a reply, only the soft snoring from behind her.


	29. Kidnapping

The next morning Lex is surprised to find she's the first person awake. It must be only six in the morning…

As she wakes up more she realizes Gray has both arms wrapped tightly around her, his face buried in her hair. He isn't snoring for once.

Lex reaches up and shakes one of the arms she's trapped in until Gray finally wakes up. When he realizes he has a steel grip around her he quickly untangles himself from her and rolls out of the bed. Lex sits up and raises an eyebrow at him.

"You're surprisingly cuddly when you're asleep. Guess Happy was right about the handsy part."

She smirks at Gray as his face lights up a shade of red she's never seen him turn before. Her smile vanishes when she remembers why she woke up.

"I think I heard someone trying to open the window."

He nods and starts to walk over to check when Lex pulls something from under her blanket and throws it at him.

"You should put your clothes back on."

Gray, who is already mortified about waking up latched onto Lex, feels even more embarrassed. It's bad enough he'd stripped again, but the cuddling thing? He'd never done that before, what was his problem?

He checks outside and finds nothing. Lex decides to wake everyone up and make them all breakfast since she's awake anyway. She serves her sleepy friends pancakes and bacon and they all eat together. She can't help feeling very comforted like this, with everyone around a table together. Afterwards everyone breaks apart to get ready.

Lex walks out of the bathroom fully dressed and finds Gray standing over her desk holding something. He turns to her and she realizes it's her picture frame.

"This is your family?"

She nods, looking at the old photo. It's the only one she has, so she cherishes it.

"Given everything that happened to you I'm kind of surprised you kept it."

"They may not have been the best family, but they were still my only family. I don't want to completely forget about them."

In the photo Lex's father, a tall strikingly handsome blonde man, is holding her older sister. Missy is about six in the picture, way back before she started dying her black hair blonde. Her father is holding her up and she has a giant smile plastered on her face. Lex's mother is holding her swaddled in a blanket. Baby Lex is reaching out and giggling.

"It's a really good picture."

They're interrupted by a frantic knock on the door. Lucy lets in Mirajane, who is crying and attempting to speak through her tears. Erza holds her shoulders steady to try to calm her down.

"Mira, what is it?"

"It's horrible! Phantom attacked again!"

"What?!"

"Please, please get to South Gate Park! I need to find everyone else!"

Mirajane races out, leaving everyone to hastily gather their things and head to the park at a full sprint. What they see when they arrive is horrifying.

A huge crowd has formed around the park's ancient tree. Levy, Jet, and Droy are hanging on the trunk of it by their arms, which are in massive iron clasps. They look terrible, their bodies covered in wounds. The Phantom symbol is painted on Levy's stomach and Lex silently prays that it's with dye and not blood.

They all stop and stare as a mixture of shock and rage fills them all. Makarov arrives and stands before the tree, his anger radiating from him.

"Having our pub demolished was one thing…but no one can remain quiet after seeing their children's blood!"

His fist clenches his staff so tightly is shatters in his grip.

"THIS MEANS WAR! Lex, can you get them down gently?"

"Yes. Imprison!"

The shadow shoots up the tree and one by one each of the injured mages fall backwards into it, metal bars included. She brings it back to the ground as the sound of sirens is heard in the distance. Reaching in she carefully grabs Levy by her shoulders and brings her out, laying her in the grass. Soon enough all three of them are back on the ground safely and loaded into an ambulance by the paramedics.

Lex reaches in and brings out the metal bars they had been pinned to the tree with. She spikes one into the ground with an enraged yell. Makarov looks between her and Lucy.

"The two of you should stay here with them. They need someone to be there if they wake up."

They agree and everyone else rushes away to meet up with the guild. Lex has no doubt that whatever they do to Phantom, it will be ugly. Part of her is ticked she can't go cave a few faces in herself.

Up at the Magnolia Hospital they take vigil over their wounded friends. It really wasn't that long ago that Lex was in one of those beds with Lucy keeping watch over her.

"Phantom really is terrible…"

Lucy is clutching her skirt in her fists. Lex goes behind her friend's chair and hugs her.

"It's going to be okay, Lucy."

"This is just so awful…"

"I know…The others will give Phantom a taste of their own medicine. We'll have our revenge."

A nurse walks in and smiles at them kindly.

"Why don't the two of you head home? I doubt your friends will awaken for some time. Let them rest. If they wake up, you two will be the first to know. Promise."

Lucy and Lex hesitantly leave, the two walking home slowly.

"I want to go back…"

"I know Lucy, I do too…Hey, with Natsu gone we can have a quiet meal for once."

"I guess…"

"Cheer up! Every cloud has silver lining."

A sudden downpour soaks them both. Lex looks up, confused.

"It's raining? But the sun is out…"

A woman is walking towards them wearing a conservative blue outfit. She looks out of place, her clothing reminiscent of northern people and not of someone who lives in the summery town of Magnolia. Her hair and eyes are the same blue color as the rest of her. Lex narrows her eyes at her.

"Who are you?"

"Drip…Drop…Yes, Juvia is a rain woman. Drip, drop. What kind of women are you?"

They step back as the woman passes. They are just about to leave when a weird bouncy noise stops them.

"Non, non, non! Non, non, non! Non, non, non, non, non, non, non!"

Lex jumps back as the ground below her ripples.

"What the hell is going on here?"

The stone she had been standing on morphs upwards and forms into a creepy little green haired man wearing a brown suit and a monocle. He twirls his skinny moustache between his fingers.

"Bonjour, with a 3-3-7 non! Lady Juvia, you know better than to neglect your work!"

"Monsieur Sol."

The man wiggles back and forth and bends to the side at a perfect ninety degree angle. Lex steps closer to Lucy as the weirdo eyes them.

"My monocle is whispering to me that this lovely blonde mademoiselle before us is our lovely cible!"

"Oh my…it was her."

Lex quickly placed herself between Lucy and the two people.

"Cible is French for target!"

"What do you want with Lucy?!"

"Pardon my late introduction! My name is Sol, I am one of the Element Five. I am also known as 'Sol of the Great Earth'. This is 'Juvia of the Great Sea'. "

"Phantom Lord…"

"That's right! The great Phantom Lord has sent us to collect the lovely lady you are so rudely keeping behind you."

"Night Core: Gauntlets!"

Lucy reaches for her keys as Lex's arms are encased in solid shadow.

"You hurt Levy and the others!"

She rushes forward and punches the woman only for her arm to sink inside her.

"W-What the hell?!"

A ball of water forms around Lucy, the lack of oxygen forcing her into unconsciousness as her keys fall into a puddle on the ground. Lex reals back to reclaim her arms from inside the water woman.

"You cannot hit Juvia. Juvia is a rain woman."

Lex tries to move again, but suddenly the stone around her sucks her into the ground like quicksand, encasing her from the waist down. More of it spreads up her body to lock her arms into place, the stone solidifying her into a human statue with only her head free.

"Non, non, non! I wish to clear up your misunderstanding with three nons! It was Sir Gajeel who destroyed your guild and attacked this Levy you speak of. Though, I guess this doesn't change the fact that this was the entire guilds decision."

Lex struggles to move her body, but the stone doesn't give enough. Sol keeps resealing all the cracks that form.

"Let her out! You're killing her!"

"Juvia's Water Lock cannot be broken. Juvia can keep whomever she wishes inside, and choose if they die or live. She must stay alive, so Juvia will not kill her. It is Juvia's duty to take her back."

"Tres bien!"

"WHY?! Why Lucy?!"

A massive cracks splits down the center of the stone keeping her in place as her struggle is fueled by her anger.

Before she can escape a ball of water forms around her head. Lex frantically thrashes in an attempt to free herself.

"It is because she is Lady Lucy Heartfilia."

"Victoire!"

"What should Juvia do with this one?"

"Kill her. She is unimportant."

The water around her head starts to drown her. Lex gurgles as the two Phantom Lord members walk away with Lucy as though they had just dumped their garbage and were leaving.

Her vision blurs as her lungs burn in her chest.

_I can't die like this! I…BLACK PEARL!_

The shadow forms around her head and expands outwards, creating enough force to shatter the Water Lock. The shadow crumbles away and spills the water inside as Lex coughs, water spewing from her mouth and nose.

By then it's too late. Lucy is gone.


	30. Feeling Useless

"Lex! What happened to you?!"

She looks up and Loke stops when he sees how blank her eyes are. His sight switches between the deep claw marks in the stone on the ground around her and her exhausted form uncertainly.

"Lex…H-Hang on! I'll get you out!"

He pries his fingers under the stone on her back and breaks chunks off until he has her freed from the waist up. Using one of his rings he impacts the ground, the force cracking it up enough for him to forcibly pull Lex free.

Her shoulders slump forward as she sits on the ground. Loke kneels in front of her, worry permeating his features.

"Lex! What happened here?! Where is Lucy?!"

"They took her. Phantom…kidnapped her…"

"WHAT?!"

Loke hauls her up by her collar.

"Why?!"

"I don't know."

"Why didn't you stop them?!"

Lex shoves him away.

"We should go back. Now."

He takes a step back from her. Her face is so dark, it scares him a little.

They return to the guild as fast as they can. Most of the other guild members are back except for Natsu, Mystogan, and Laxus. Erza sees Lex and approaches her quickly.

"Lex, something troubling has occurred."

"What?"

"Master was badly injured. Someone stole his magic power and he is very sick. I sent Bisca and Alzack to take him to an acquaintance. She will know what to do with him."

Lex looks at the ground and Erza's brow furrows.

"Lex, what's wrong?"

"Two members of the Element Five took Lucy."

A hush falls over the guild. Erza, who is now in charge it seems, looks overwhelmed.

"They took her?! Why didn't you go after them?!"

"Natsu isn't here…"

"Lex, why didn't you go after them?!"

"He probably knows already."

"Alexis!"

"I lost, okay?! I didn't even stand a chance!"

Erza is about to backhand Lex when Gray grabs her by the wrist. She's turning to say something to him when Loke jumps in.

"E-Erza, Lex was beaten by them! She was encased in stone when I found her! She couldn't get free!"

"I see…"

Erza runs a hand over her face. It's obvious she's having trouble thinking straight in this situation. Suddenly, the guild erupts into cheers as Natsu comes barreling in with Lucy on his back. Erza blinks at them.

"That was fast."

Lucy sees Lex and rushes over to her, hugging her tightly. Lex hugs her friend back numbly.

"Lex! I was so worried about you!"

"I'm fine…are you alright?"

"Natsu saved me!"

"I knew he would."

"So did I…Lex, I'm so sorry about all this…This is all my fault, I never told you my father is a tycoon and now he's trying so hard to get me back..."

Lex hugs her again reassuringly. She hopes Lucy can't see how troubled she looks.

They sit Lucy on a barrel and begin preparing for war. Lacrimas and spellbooks are passed around as the guild's better strategists get to work planning. Gray turns to Lucy.

"What's the matter? Still feeling uneasy?"

"No, it isn't that…It's just…I'm sorry…"

Elfman crosses his arms.

"Well, it's the destiny of daughters of rich men to be targeted. Men are duty-bound to protect them."

Happy puts his paws on her knee.

"Why did you hide the truth?"

"It wasn't that I was hiding it…I was a runaway, so I just never wanted to talk about it. He didn't care about his daughter being gone for a year, but then suddenly he wants to drag me back. Daddy did all this to bring me back…he's horrible! Still, it was my running away that caused all this…I never thought my selfish actions would cause you all so much trouble…because of me so many people have been hurt…I'm so sorry…this would all end if I just went home…"

"I don't know about that, but I just can't see you being called a 'Lady'. If anything suits you, it's laughing in this filthy pub and freaking out while on an adventure. You said you want to stay, so why go back if you don't want to? You're Lucy of Fairy Tail! This is where you belong."

Lucy starts crying happily at Natu's words. Erza turns to address everyone.

"Tomorrow we will all meet here and prepare to attack Phantom. For now we will all rest and try to recuperate as best we can. If you need anything, get it now. We will all be staying here."

Gray is talking with Elfman when Erza comes up to him.

"Gray, you should consult with Lex."

"Huh? Why?"

"She went home to get some things, but she was acting strange earlier. She didn't even defend herself when I went to attack her. I…feel bad about overreacting as I did, but I cannot leave to go check on her myself."

"Yeah, I'll go see what's up. I was planning on going on anyway"

Before long Gray is letting himself in the house Lex shares with Lucy.

"Lex? Are you in here?"

He walks into the bedroom and finds her sitting on the floor, her back up against Lucy's bed and a thick, black bound book in front of her with cryptic runic lettering on it. There's an empty bottle of wine beside her and a half empty one in her hand. Based on the two unopened bottles he guesses Lex isn't in the best state right now. She slurs her words drunkenly when she speaks.

"Well lookee here! Whatcha doin?"

"…Are you alright?"

"Juss peachy! I got my arsh handed to me and can't even stop a kidnapping. Bastard stuck me in the ground and tried to drown me."

"Lucy is safe, Natsu brought her back."

"But he shouldn't have HAD TO!"

"Everything worked out in the end, now come back to the guild. Erza is sorry about what happened and I'm sure Lucy is worried about you."

He squats in front of her and tries to take the bottle from her. She hisses at him.

"No! I'm weak! I wasn't any help with Lullaby and I was useless on Galuna. I only beat Percy AFTER he almost killed me! Then I didn't even do anything! I just passed out a lot! I couldn't even stop two people from taking Lucy! He beat me with ONE MOVE! I-"

Neither one is sure who was more surprised: Lex as her hand reached up to touch her stinging cheek or Gray as he pulled his hand away. It's the first time he's ever struck her, and the realization makes him feel sick.

"Lex I'm-"

"No. I needed that."

She looks back at him guiltily and sets the bottle down feeling very sober all of a sudden. Gray takes a deep breath.

"You aren't useless."

"I let Lucy down…"

"You were up against two S-Class mages and lost. It's okay."

Lex bites her lip, but it doesn't stop the tears from bubbling up in her eyes.

"No it isn't! I'm not reliable at all! I'm miles behind you guys…"

"You're a hypocrite."

"What?"

He leans forward so that he's looking her straight in the eye.

"On Galuna, you gave me a pep talk about not living in the past, and now you're in here drinking and wallowing in your own self-pity."

"I didn't try to kill myself!"

She runs her hands over her wet face angrily.

"No, I didn't mean that. I'm sorry…"

He reaches out and tilts her chin up so she'll look at him.

"I…I know I shouldn't have done that. Natsu cornered me afterwards and made sure I knew it too. I made a bad decision and it hurt my friends. This isn't much different, though. Letting your pain fester inside you will kill your mind. Relax."

Lex sniffles, her tears cascading down her cheeks.

"You'll only be as strong as you think you are, and if you keep telling yourself you're weak, you'll be weak. Instead, tell yourself you're going to absolutely destroy your opponent and then do it! You need to have more confidence in yourself. You're a Fairy Tail mage now, act like one! We support each other; no one is alone in anything."

Her chin quivers as she nods.

"You're an ugly crier."

"WHAT?!"

"Good, you stopped crying. Hold still."

He pulls off his shirt and grabs the corner, using it to dry her face gently. He balls it up and throws it in her laundry basket.

"I expect that back soon."

She rolls her eyes at him and he laughs. Suddenly she throws her arms around his neck and hugs him.

"Thanks. For everything."

She separates from him hastily.

"That's the only hug you get."

"I doubt it."

"Shut up."

He helps her to her feet and she places the strange book back on her desk. They head back to the guild.

She has to get it together.


	31. War

Everyone is lying around, wounds freshly wrapped and bones set. An odd rumbling summons the guild outside.

"What…WHAT IS THAT?!"

Phantom Lord's guild is wading through the lake towards the demolished guild hall. Metal legs jut out from underneath the land mass to allow it movement. The entire scene is like that out of a horror film.

The most disturbing part of it all? Erza looks terrified. Genuinely terrified.

"I never anticipated that they would attack like this…"

A canon suddenly moves out from Phantom's guild, harsh magic collecting at the end of it. Erza turns back at the only members of Fairy Tail left standing.

"This is bad! Everyone get down!"

She rushes forward, requiping into an extremely thick suit of magic armor with arm plates that form a shield when put together.

"I won't let you destroy the guild!"

Lex covers her mouth, fear filling her. She isn't sure if Erza could withstand a blow from that thing.

Gray has to hold Natsu down to keep him from stopping her.

"Stop, Erza! You're going to die!"

The blast rockets forward and crashes into the armor's magic circle, the force enough to generate a small shockwave. Erza cries out as the shield and armor break down and she's sent flying. She's managed to stop the blast, but at the expense of her body. She can't even stand now.

Natsu runs to her side, picking her up and bringing her back to the others. Jose's voice flows through the magic speakers to their ears.

"Neither Makarov nor Erza can fight now. Victory is now beyond your grasp. Hand over Lucy Heartfilia."

A choir of negative yells erupts from Fairy Tail. The overall theme is still present: Lucy is their friend, a fellow guild member, and that is where she will stay!

"In that case, I'll give you an even bigger taste of Jupiter! You have fifteen minutes until it recharges! Tremble in fear!"

Wispy, ghostly apparitions begin flowing from the opposing guild.

"Prepare to witness Hell! Fairy Tail, you've only got two choices left: be destroyed by my soldiers, or be eradicated by Jupiter!"

Cana pulls out her cards.

"Jose is sending his shades. They're not human; they are phantom soldiers of his own creation. We have to do something about Jupiter!"

"I'll take it out! Fifteen minutes, right? I can do it!"

She nods her approval to Natsu and Happy carries him up towards the canon. Gray, Lex, and Elfman run to the edge of the water.

"We're going too!"

Gray freezes the water over and the three go skating across. They reach the guild building and enter Lex's shadow so they can get up to the top. It takes a long time to get from the shore to the walking contraption.

A huge explosion obliterates the canon. Lex sighs.

"Good, Natsu took it out."

However, soon after they get inside the whole structure begins moving and shifting. The guild turns into a giant, magic-powered mechanical monstrosity. They all look at each other in alarm.

They rush over to the site of the broken Jupiter just in time for Gray to freeze the man about to attack Natsu. Elfman punches him and sends him flying into the sky as Lex pulls their fiery friend up off the ground. Happy is grinning from ear to ear.

"You guys are awesome!"

"Natsu, you really are pathetic."

"A real man would give motion sickness to the vehicle instead!"

"Is that what's left of Jupiter?"

Natsu stands on his own and Lex releases him.

"It stopped moving."

Lex points upwards abruptly and all eyes follow her finger.

"It's drawing a magic circle with its arms!"

They stare up at it in shock. It's already almost a quarter of the way finished.

Lex swallows hard, sick to her stomach at the sight.

"Abyss Break…it's a forbidden seal. I remember it perfectly from back when we were learning to recognize forbidden magic in Lamia Scale. That kind of magic could obliterate the guild and all of Magnolia with it!"

"Now we aren't just fighting to protect ourselves, but all of Magnolia's citizens. Let's split up and go find the power source."

The four split apart and each take their own pathway into Phantom Lord. Lex is alone now.

She's running down a corridor when she hears odd, high pitched laughing. It sounds like a lot like two pieced of wood being whacked together.

"Kokokokokokoko!"

"Who's there?!"

"Kokoko! I see we found a meddler!"

"Where are you?!"

A woman is suddenly behind her. Lex turns and lays eyes on her for the first time.

She walks stiffly, bent slightly like a marionette on its strings. Her hair is a shock of burnt orange that falls around her head and shoulders messily. Lex can't tell where her pupils end and her nearly black irises begin.

"Kokoko! Here I am!"

"Alright, and who are you?"

"I am Cocoa. Please! Please guess! What element am I?"

Well, she's already met the ground and water members…

"Air?"

"Wrong! Kokokoko!"

"…Fire?"

"Wrong again! I am something much…closer to you…"

Lex feels the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

"Okay, I give up. What element are you?"

"Humanity! The element of humanity! I am 'Cocoa of the Great People'."

"Humanity? That isn't an element."

"Oh, but it is! Humans are the most DESTRUCTIVE element on this planet! We manipulate that which is around us into what we desire! Do you not agree, Alexis?"

"How do you know my name?"

"I was visiting your guild that night Gajeel went to play with your Fairies. I learned allllllllll about you. All of you. It is a shame you awoke before I could open the window."

"So you were the one that woke me up. I thought I felt something."

"Kokokokoko!"

"Why watch us?"

"Because my dear, I am humanity. I can feel your emotions, your wants and desires. The heart is most open, most…truthful…in slumber."

"What did my heart tell you?"

"Many, many things. Kokokoko…Shall I show you?"

The room slowly fades from view and Cocoa vanishes.

"I will show you what makes the heart human…"


	32. Lex Vs Cocoa

The disembodied voice of Cocoa floats around Lex. She's taken over Lex's vision and all she can see is pitch black darkness. It's the first time in a long time she hasn't been able to see in the dark.

"Do you know what makes the heart human, Alexis?"

She attempts to focus her hearing and find the doll woman.

"What?"

"Oh, you aren't even guessing…Fine, I'll give you some hints…"

Suddenly, Lucy is there in front of Lex. She saunters up to her.

"Don't you remember? Remember all those wonderful insecurities you feel around me?"

_Lucy is so pretty…I'm jealous..._

_People will never like me like they like her…_

_Why is she so nice to me? I don't understand it…_

"Night Core: Gauntlet!"

Lex strikes the false Lucy. The pain that courses through her sends her shrieking to the ground, clutching her chest.

"Kokoko…You shouldn't do that."

"What did you do to me?!"

"I told you, this is your heart talking. You shouldn't fight with it; it may…break…Kokokoko!"

Her chest tightens, pain shooting through the left side of her ribcage. Gasping for air she stands and encounters apparitions of other guild members.

"You know you are not the most powerful mage in Fairy Tail. You are weaker than the others, living in their shadow."

The other members expand, leering over Lex disapprovingly.

"Living in their shadow just as you lived in your sisters."

_Fine, keep her! I don't care what happens to that trash!_

"TRASH! Are you trash, Alexis?"

"Stop."

_Alexis, just…be brave…_

"TRASH! Yes, thrown away by everyone who shares your blood…"

"Stop!"

_Everyone is stronger._

_Everyone._

_I'm so low on the ladder…_

_I could never stand up to Erza, Natsu, or Gray in a fight…_

_I doubt I could even beat Lucy…_

Lex backs up, her hands attempting to push away the visions haunting her.

"Oh, this one is my favorite…"

Her eyes meet Grays. He's standing so close to her.

"Lex…"

The image of Gray's arms wrapped around her that morning flow through her, but not from her perspective. It's from the viewpoint of the window above Lucy's bed.

_Stop._

_Stop making me feel so many things for you._

"Lex…Come with me…"

_I feel so confused._

_You're my friend._

"Lex…"

_I can't be anything more the way I am._

"Because you are trash. Thrown aside by those who should have loved you. Thrown aside by those who think they are BETTER than you! What do you feel, Lex?"

_Confusion._

"No…look deeper into your heart."

_I feel…anger…_

"Yes…keep digging…"

_Hatred._

"Ah, yes…now you get it."

_I hate them!_

"Hatred is what makes us human!"

_I HATE them!_

"Humanity is hatred! Malicious intent, it guides us…it is what makes us human!"

_How DARE they leave me behind?!_

"We are the only living beings that live in hatred!"

_They think they are better than me?!_

"Let it eat away at you!"

_Why?! Why torture me like this?!_

"Eat away, until you are only a shell!"

_I HATE them!_

"Until you are merely a vessel…"

_I HATE THEM!_

"An emotionless vessel…a puppet on strings…"

Cocoa laughs, her body clunking woodenly around Lex. Her eyes stare blankly at the ceiling as her face twists into a malevolent grin.

"Yes…feel the emotion of humanity…this is what it means to be alive! You will have your revenge, do not worry…I will make sure your body kills many Fairies before you finally die!"

_Fairies?_

_That's right…_

_Fairy Tail_

The memory of everyone gathered tiredly around the breakfast table eating and chatting fills her mind.

Long train rides, antics in the guild hall.

Shopping trips and jobs with her friends.

The love she feels for everyone around her. The acceptance. How could she have forgotten it?

"No!"

"WHAT?!"

Lex snaps back to reality, her eyes still covered in the illusion.

"You cannot possibly resist!"

"I can, because you're wrong!"

"I am not wrong! I am humanity! I feel the hearts of men and women!"

"Then you're an idiot! The true thing that binds us, that makes us human, isn't our ability to hate each other!"

"It is the only emotion-"

"Love."

"What?"

"Humans love. We fight because we love, we die because we love! Our ability to forge everlasting friendships is what connects us!"

_I can see them._

_Everyone's hearts…_

_They are shining through the illusion!_

_I can see them, so many glowing hearts on the beach!_

_I can see the ones here as well!_

_We are all fighting for our friends!_

Lex's eyes refocus and she stares down the woman.

"No more illusions! Fight me!"

"You're death could have been merciful."

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard that before."

"I already have you caught."

Invisible blades all cut into her skin at once as she tries to move.

"Black Cat!"

She slices her claws around her, feeling them rip through something. She can barely see the threads as they flutter to the ground.

"String."

"You are in my web, Fairy. Kokokokoko…"

It seems like the more she slices through the string, the more there is. It rips into her skin and creates varying depths of gashes all along her body.

The woman holds up her hands. They bounce around puppet-like.

"String Art: Whip."

A thin whip of woven strings springs from her hand. She flicks it out and attempts to wrap it around Lex's throat, but she stops it with her claws.

Pushing it away she jumps to the side and realizes too late that she's gone a step too far as her opponent smiles.

"Spiders Web."

String tightens around Lex's legs, holding her in place. Her left arm is secured as well.

The doll-like woman begins crawling along the string like an arachnid. She opens her mouth widely and cackles again.

"Kokokoko! Prepare to die, Fairy! No one escapes my web!"

Her mouth continues to open, hinging like a snake. A magic circle appears in her gaping maw.

"Spider Shooter!"

Lex clenches her teeth as she rips her arm free with a gritted yell.

"Black Pearl!"

Solid Shadow wraps her as hundreds of sharp, unforgiving threads smash into it. She manages to slice her legs free in just enough time to vanish into her shadow as they break through.

She makes it a few feet across the room before leaping from her shadow and looking back on the scene.

Cocoa is staring at her with a few stray threads hanging from her closed mouth, which is upturned in a demented smile. The area where Lex had previously be standing has enough thread stuck in it for her to guess exactly what would have become of her if she had stayed there a second longer.

"You can't escape, little Fairy. I haven't painted myself with your blood yet."

Lex brings her mangled arm up and clenches her fist tightly, solid shadow covering her arm and stretching out from her fist, making her arm look like a pickaxe. She brings her other hand up, drawing two fingers across the center of the upturned spike.

Her other hand forms a solid shadow spike between her fingers. Cocoa's smile vanishes when she realizes it looks like Lex is holding a massive black bow.

"Who said I would try to escape? Night Core: Abyss Arrow!"

The puppet woman shrieks and leaps at her, but it's too late. The spike flies and hit her square in the stomach. Her body careens backwards in her own tangled web. Lex brings up her free hand and clenches her fist.

"Abysmal Strike!"

The spike explodes and the woman screams in agony, falling from her perch upon the strings to the ground. The threads vanish as the unconscious woman collides with the stone floor.

"Never underestimate Fairy Tail!"


	33. Can't Catch a Break

Lex takes one look at her downed opponent and sighs, falling backwards onto the ground.

"I did it…Woah…"

She holds up her hands and stares at her palms.

"That book…I'd never been able to use any of the spells in it until now…but it didn't look right and I used so much magic in the end anyway…"

Back at home, Lex has a book Missy had attempted to teach her magic from. However, the words are all in a language that nobody has been able to read. No matter how much research she did she could never translate the text. She had, eventually, managed to figure out a couple of spells based on diagrams alone. She'd just never been able to actually use them until now.

"That was certainly an all-or-nothing attack at my level. I-OW!"

Lex looks at her arm and cringes at the sight of the ragged flesh. She hadn't even realized she'd torn her arm out of the string trap so violently.

She sits up slowly and starts unraveling the bandage from her waist. She winds it around her wounded arm and uses her teeth to tie it off at her shoulder.

"I could see everyone's hearts there for a moment. The illusion turned in my favor once I figured it out."

She closes her eyes and calls up her memory of the vision.

"Let's see…Two were Natsu and Happy, they were the really big one and the smaller one…Gray was the one on the roof…There was a pair of them over there, but one was stationary outside the castle while the other moved around a lot…Elfman? But who is he with? It felt a lot like Mira…The last one is on the top floor…"

She focuses on the one highest up.

"…Lucy? Why is she here?!"

Turning on her heel she takes off farther into the guild. She's positive it's Lucy, but when did they get to her?

She stops abruptly before turning the corner and glances around it. It's Natsu, and he's fighting a very large man with a blindfold.

"Okay…The presence was higher, but how do I sneak past this guy?"

He looks like he's giving Natsu a thrashing. She can't get up those stairs with him there; she'd get pulled into the fight.

Lex heads back down the hall and looks up at the ceiling above her.

"Well, I did say not to underestimate Fairy Tail."

Summoning her gauntlets she leaps upwards and smashes through the stone ceiling, finding herself in an empty room. She curses under her breath and cradles her arm to her chest for a moment. Ignoring the pain she wanders out and quickly arrives at a large set of doors. They're open slightly.

"LUCY!"

Gajeel's foot connects soundly with Lex's stomach as she leaps between them. It takes all of her mental concentration to keep herself from passing out.

"Lex!"

"Get back!"

Lucy's hands are bound, so she can only scurry away. Lex gulps, looking between Gajeel and Jose himself.

_This is bad…I used up too much magic already…_

Jose laughs under his breath.

"Really…must you children insist of delaying the inevitable?"

"You can't have Lucy!"

"You are mistaken. She is already mine to take and you cannot do anything about it."

Lex knows she can't win this alone.

_Come on guys! Hurry!_

"It is a shame you bypassed Aria while he was busy. He could have made sure there was something to bury after your death. Gajeel. Kill her."

The iron dragon slayer cracks his knuckles, sneering at her. She holds up her arms.

"Night Core: Gauntlet!"

Gajeel leaps at her, his arm turning into an iron beam and bearing down on her with incredible speed and strength. She dodges, just barely, and practically dances around the room in an effort to continually evade the man.

"You can't run forever!"

Lex darts between two pillars and attempts to punch him. Her fist glances across the metal surface in her wounded state with no effect. She decides it's time to make their exit.

"Midnight Charade!"

She claps her hands together in front of her and misty, fluid shadow flows from her body.

_This is all I have left! Please let it be enough!_

Once the room has fallen into murky darkness she rushes to Lucy, grabbing for her.

"I can smell you."

Lex turns, eyes wide as she realizes she if face to face with Gajeel.

She'd forgotten dragon slayers can smell so well.

She screams as a vortex of metal parts hits her directly, sending her flying. She slams into the wall and ends up partially buried in the rubble. The sunlight pours in, dissipating the mist.

"Lex! Lex!"

Lucy is screaming to her. Lex doesn't even have the strength to reach out anymore.

"Members of Fairy Tail: listen closely to this."

Jose, who had calmly watched the whole ordeal, uses his magic speakers to communicate across the building. He holds up Lucy by her hair, making her scream.

"We have captured Lucy. That's right. Our first goal has been achieved."

He drops her back to the ground and begins walking towards Lex.

"That leaves us with our one other goal…"

He reaches down; clasping her wavy black locks in his hands, and uses her hair to rip her from the rubble. She can barely utter a gravely shriek.

"Destroying all of you pathetic brats!"

Dragging Lex behind him as he walks he looks back at Lucy. She's gritting her teeth and tears are streaming down her face.

"Watch, Lucy. I'm going to make sure there are no more miracles."

With that he throws Lex through the air. Her body flies through the open doors like a discarded rag doll and out over the stairs. Her eyes are closed tightly as she anticipates the impact with the ground.

"Lex? Can you hear me?"

She cracks an eye open and her eyes meet Gray's. He caught her.

"R…un…"

Everyone stops moving as the aura of death fills the air. Erza is lying on the ground, her body pushed well past its breaking point. Elfman takes a step closer to Mirajane and Gray as he shifts Lex's weight in his arms.

"That was truly impressive, Fairy Tail wizards."

Gray hurriedly passes Lex's motionless body to Mirajane, who pulls her back beside Erza as the boys take battle stances. Jose is clapping as he walks down the stairs.

"To be honest, I never imagined you would entertain me this much. To think you would destroy Jupiter, take down the Element Five, and bring my magic giant to its knees."

Mira clutches Lex closely. From this angle she can barely see what's happening from her peripherals.

"So much evil magic! Just facing him makes me feel sick!"

"Now then, you were kind enough to entertain me, so I really must return the favor."

Jose hits Elfman and Gray with a single attack, the two collapsing into a heap. Mira screams to them as Erza drags herself to her feet.

He creates an explosion, sending everyone besides Erza tumbling across the foyer. They can hear the sounds of battle between Jose and Erza, but nothing that is said reaches their ears.

Lex can see Mirajane lying across from her. Gray is down farther towards the wall and a shock of white hair near her must be Elfman.

The building rumbles, pieces of it collapsing around them. Erza is screaming in agony, but Lex can't turn her head to see what is happening. Her eyes flutter closed and she scratches at the ground with her fingers. It's the only movement she can manage.

_Help us! _

Then, it just…stops. The room falls into silence.

"Much blood has been shed…Children's blood…"

_Master…_

"Children have suffered and shed tears because of their uncouth parents on both sides. It has gone far enough. This must be ended!"

"You wish for a catastrophe, then?"

Intense magic ripples through the air. There is the dark magic of death, and magic that emits a feeling of love.

"If it's for my guild's sake, then yes! Everyone, get away from here!"

The others are up now. Lex finds strength in the presence of her master and pulls herself to her feet, but Gray still has to carry her. They don't want to leave…but they have to. They rush outside into the open air.

The building is surrounded by a glowing orb of energy from the powerful magic inside. It churns the water into massive waves and calls down lightning strikes from the swirling clouds in the sky. The ground shakes as an earthquake begins below the water.

Gray stumbles and Lex falls to the ground as an explosion behind them rattles the place. Elfman pulls her up by the back of her shirt with one hand as he passes her and throws her over his shoulder as they flee.

"I got her!"

"What is that?!"

A massive, golden magic circle forms above the guild, shining light down onto them. It builds up and spreads like a shockwave. Warm, comforting magic rushes through Lex as they flee.

The last thing Lex hears before she falls asleep in the magic's gentle embrace is Erza.

"…Fairy Law."


End file.
